RED RIVER VALLEY
(Traditional - North American)
Carl T. Sprague (recorded under the title "Cowboy Love Song") - 1925
Kelly Harrell (recorded under the title "Bright Sherman Valley") - 1926
Jules Verne Allen (recorded under the title "Cowboy's Love Song") - 1929
Gene Autry (feat. in the film "Red River Valley") - 1936
Tex Morton - 1938
Frank Luther (recorded under the title "Bright Mohawk Valley") - 1939
Henry Fonda (feat. in the film "The Grapes Of Wrath") - 1940
Roy Rogers & The Sons Of The Pioneers (feat. in the film "Red River Valley") -
1941
Woody Guthrie - 1944
The Andrews Sisters (with Vic Schoen & His Orch.) - 1944
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - 1947
Bill Haley & The Four Aces Of Western Swing - 1948
Jo Stafford & The Starlighters - 1949
Rex Allen (feat. in the film "Red River Shore") - 1953
Jo Stafford & The Norman Luboff Choir - 1953
Eddy Arnold - 1955
Jimmy Wakely - 1956
Dick Curless - 1958
George Melachrino & His Orch. (Instr.) - 1958
Elton Britt - 1959
The Sons Of The Pioneers - 1959
Johnny & The Hurricanes (Instr. under the title "Red River Rock) - 1959
Marty Robbins - 1960
Connie Francis - 1961
Pete Seeger - 1962
Tex Ritter with Stan Kenton & His Orch. - 1962
The Willis Brothers - 1962
Grady Martin (Instr.) - 1962
Grant Green (Instr.) - 1962
Roy Acuff - 1963
Slim Critchlow - 1963
The Ventures (Instr. under the title "Red River Rock) - 1963
New Christy Minstrels - 1964
Lloyd Green (Instr.) - 1964
Bill Black Combo (Instr.) - 1964
Helena Vondrácková - 1964
Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys (Instr.) - 1967
Stonewall Jackson - 1968
Tex Ritter - 1969
Edmundo Ros & His Orch. (Instr.) - 1970
Danny Davis & The Nashville Brass (Instr.) - 1972
Johnny Bond - 1974
Slim Whitman - 1977
Jimmy Newman - 1978
Moe Bandy - 1982
Michael Martin Murphey - 1990
Lynn Anderson - 1992
Arlo Guthrie - 1992
Harvey Reid - 1992
The Lewis Family Band - 1996
Waddie Mitchell - 1997
George Strait - 1998
Cowboy Envy - 2000
Carol Noonan - 2001
Cassandra Wilson - 2006
Bucky Pizzarelli - 2010
Also recorded by:
Jimmie Rodgers; Delmore Brothers; Mike Anderson;
Larry Groce; Uncle Dave Macon; Alasdair Gillies;
Johnnie Ray; Glenn Yarbrough; Country Gentlemen;
Boxcar Willie; Josephine Cameron; John Darnielle;
Raymond Fairchild; Foster & Allen; Riley Puckett;
Riders in the Sky; Roger Whittaker; Billy Walker;
"Red River" Dave McEnery; Firehouse Five Plus Two;
The Mills Brothers; Goebel Reeves; McGuire Sisters;
Foy Willing & Riders Of The Purple Sage.....and others.
From this valley they say you are going
I will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile
For you know you are takin' the sunshine
That has brightened my pathway a while
So, come and sit by my side if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
Just remember the Red River Valley
And the cowboy who loved you so true
Won't you think of the valley you're leaving
Oh, how lonely, how sad it will be
Won't you think of the heart you are breaking
And the grief you are causing to me
As you go to your home by the ocean
May you never forget those sweet hours
That we spent in the Red River Valley
And the love we exchanged mid the flowers
I have promised you, darling, that never
Will a word from my lips cause you pain
And my life, it will be yours forever
If you only will love me again
I have waited a long time, my darling
For those words that you never would say
Till at last as my poor heart is breaking
They tell me you're going away
They will bury me where you have wandered
Near the hills where the daffodils grow
When you're gone from the Red River Valley
For I can't live without you I know
Then come sit by my side if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
Just remember the Red River Valley
And the cowboy who loved you so true
+++++++++
As recorded by the ANDREWS SISTERS and the McGUIRE SISTERS:
Please come back to the Red River Valley
Please come back to a heart that is true
I'll be here in the Red River Valley
I'll be waiting, my darling, for you
Oh, my darling, I know you are leaving
Though you say it is just for awhile
But my darling you know I'll be grieving
For the sound of your voice and your smile
(I have waited a long time, my darling)
(For the words that you never would say)
(Now I know that my dreams are all ending)
(For I know you are going away, far away)
Please come back to the Red River Valley
Please come back to a heart that is true
I'll be here in the Red River Valley
I'll be waiting, my darling, for you
I'll be waiting, my darling, for you
++++++++++
TRIVIA:
Although the origins of this song are not known with any certainty, it is
thought by many to be of Canadian origin, being the lament of an Indian maiden
in love with a British soldier in Rupert's Land (in what is now the Canadian
province of Manitoba) following the 1869-70 Red River Rebellion. Below is one of
the earliest known versions:
From this valley they say you are going
We will miss your bright eyes and fair smile
But alas, you take with you the sunshine
That has brightened my pathway awhile
Chorus:
Then consider awhile ere you leave me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
But remember the Red River Valley
And the girl that has loved you so true
It is a long time I've been waiting
For the words that you never would say,
But alas, all my hopes they have vanished
For they say you are going away
Chorus
Do you think of he valley you're leaving
How lonesome and dreary 'twill be
Do you think of the heart you have broken
And the sorrow that o'ershadows me
Chorus
From this valley they say you are going
When you go, may your darling go too
Would you leave her behind unprotected
When she loves no other but you
Chorus
I have promised you, darling, that never
Will a word from my lips cause you pain
And my life, it will be yours forever
If you only will love me again
Chorus
Must the past with its joys be blighted
By the future of sorrow and pain
And the vows that were spoken be slighted
Don't you think you can love me again
Chorus
As you go to your home by the ocean
May you never forget those sweet hours
That we spent in the Red River Valley
And the love we exchanged 'mid the flowers
Chorus
There never could be such a longing
In the heart of a white maiden's breast
As there is in the heart that is breaking
With love for the boy who came West
Chorus
And the dark maiden's prayer for her lover
To the Spirit that rules over the world
May his pathway be ever in sunshine
Is the prayer of the Red River girl
Chorus
