River Songs
River Songs is a suite of five familiar American songs composed for the conical brass quintet High Bridge Brass, hence the river theme.
The origins of Shenandoah, the first song, are unclear. There are many different lyrics associated with the tune, mostly about a trader or sailor in love with an Indian chief’s daughter. Whatever the origin, the song became a sea shanty sung by flatboat men who sailed the Missouri River, and found its way down the Mississippi River to American clipper ships and then spread around the world. The song is presented here as a sort of lover’s daydream or fantasy about Shenandoah’s daughter, with little hints of the tune, like longings, appearing before the entire song is introduced, followed by spirited fancies, imaginings, and what-ifs, winding down into a hopeful close.
The second song, Low Bridge, Everybody Down, also known as The Erie Canal, is the only song in this series composed in the 20th century. This light-hearted song is credited to Thomas S. Allen and was published in 1912. The song commemorates the period from 1825 to 1880, when mules pulled the barges, before the construction of the New York State Barge Canal, which ran on engine power. This particular arrangement features the tuba first playing the tune after the introduction, accompanied by an amiable shuffling background as the bargeman leads his mule, Sal, “fifteen miles down the Erie Canal”.
The Boatmen’s Dance was composed in 1843, several years before its songwriter Dan Emmet composed his biggest hit, Dixie, in 1859. Although popular in the North and the South, Dixie, which was composed for a minstrel show in New York, became an enormous hit with the Confederates, and Emmet regretted writing it. The Boatmen’s Song, on the other hand, was a celebration of Ohio River boatmen. Like Dixie, both songs were written for and performed in Northern minstrel shows. The arrangement is quick and light, and the tune itself is cheerful and catchy.
Like Shenandoah, the origins of Going Down to the River to Pray are vague. The earliest known version was titled The Good Old Way and published in Slave Songs of the United States in 1867. Although it is also sung as “Going Down to the Valley to Pray,” the river reference stuck after the song’s use in the 2000 film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” The song is often sung at outdoor baptisms. The version of the song used in this adaptation is pentatonic, using only five pitches, lending the tune a somewhat primitive feel. There are many different versions of the song, but they all share a noticeable similarity. This arrangement here, like the tune itself, is stately, somewhat ceremonial, and emotionally contained.
The last song in the suite, Down by the Riverside, is an African-American spiritual dating back before the Civil War. Known also as Ain’t Gonna Study War No More and Gonna Lay Down My Burden, it wasn’t published until 1918. Since the song is primarily concerned with leaving negative feelings behind, the arrangement gleefully displays a positive attitude throughout.
Bruce Broughton, 2025