This is the kind of discussion I've been hoping for on this thread! "Away, Rio" has been on my list but I hadn't gotten to it yet. Am I hearing agreement among Lighter, Q, and Charley, that regardless of "where" we locate the "Rio Grande" geographically, the shanty was popular by 1850 and "could' have been sung on board the "Julia Ann" on her voyages in1853-1855?