Red River Valley

A folk song and cowboy music standard of controversial origins that has gone by different names.

Published: 01 Oct 2011 Updated: 12 Nov 2022Visits: 453Code: UL514

INSTRUMENTS: Folk Main: Ukulele Others: Ukulele Leadsheet
Subjects: Beginner • Repertoire

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Red River Valley

Red River Valley is a folk song and cowboy music standard of controversial origins that has gone by different names—e.g., "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Valley" — depending on where it has been sung.

Edith Fowke offers anecdotal evidence that the song was known in at least five Canadian provinces before 1896. This finding led to speculation that the song was composed at the time of the Wolseley Expedition to the northern Red River Valley of 1870 in Manitoba. It expresses the sorrow of a local woman (possibly a Métis) as her soldier lover prepares to return to the east.

The earliest known written manuscript of the lyrics, titled The Red River Valley, bears the notations "Nemaha 1879" and "Harlan 1885." Nemaha and Harlan are the names of counties in Nebraska, and are also the names of towns in Iowa.

The song appears in sheet music, titled In the Bright Mohawk Valley, printed in New York in 1896 with James J. Kerrigan as the writer. The tune and lyrics were collected and published in Carl Sandburg's 1927 American Songbook.

  • Common Keys: C, G • Really any common Folk key (C G D A E).
  • First Melodic Interval: P5P4 • ( starts on the perfect fifth of the key and the next melody note is up a perfect fourth. In the key of G major this would be: D to G)

Basic Open Position Chords & Strumming Pattern

Red River Valley…

High "G", C Tuning Notes

Note Inventory: This is simply knowing what the notes of the melody are, and where can you play them on your instrument? In our case, the ukulele. In C Tuning the notes are, from the lowest note D to the highest note D, one octave higher: D Eb E F A G C D'. These can all be played in the open position. Only the high D is slightly our of position on string one, fret (5). The Eb is a common chromatic substitution leading to the D7 on line three.

The E G and A can all be played in alternate note locations.

  • A is available on string four fret (2) and string one open
  • E is available on string for two and string three fret (4)
  • G is available on string four open and string two fret (3)

Single Note Melody

If playing the melody only as single notes I would stick with the open strings for the E and A. And, string two, fret (3) for the G in a more linear fashion with higher notes remain on the same string higher or going to the next higher string.

Melody and Chord Arrangements

When adding in the chords with the melody, the open strings are a great arranging opportunity. This allows you to get a fuller sounding arrangement with allowing the open strings to ring.

Open Position Chords

These are the basic Open Position Chords that can get you through Red River Valley.

Strumming Patterns

Start with the Four Famous Strums in the Building Your Core Strums for Ukulele Series .

Here is the most famous of the Four Famous Strums, Pattern Four: The Island Strum

This is the D D U - U D U, down down up - up down up strumming pattern called the Island Strum.

Web Resources

Main Song Download(s)

The main downloads for this Song.

SL174

Red River Valley - Chord Lead Sheet, Keys of G and C

Updated: 06 Mar 2020

There is anecdotal evidence that the song was known in at least five Canadian provinces before 1896.[2] This finding led to speculation that the song was composed at the time of the 1870 Wolseley Expedition to Manitoba's northern Red River Valley. It expresses the sorrow of a local woman (possibly a Métis) as her soldier lover prepares to return to the east.

SL173

Red River Valley - Lyrics

Updated: 31 Dec 2016

Related Lessons

Related Lessons for Red River Valley.

ULHA-YB-195

Red River Valley

Updated: 15 Mar 2023

Harmonic Analysis (RMA) Worksheet for the song: "Red River Valley".

Related Songs

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UL503

Bingo

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Bingo, also known as Bingo Was His Name-Oand There Was a Farmer Who Had a Dog, is an English language children's song of obscure origin. In most modern forms, the song involves spelling the name of a dog, and with increasing letters replaced with handclaps on each repetition.

UL507

Danny Boy

Updated: 01 Oct 2011

Danny Boy is a ballad written by Frederic Weatherly and usually set to the tune of the "Londonderry Air". It is most closely associated with Irish communities. The words to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910.

UL516

This Train

Updated: 28 Nov 2017

This Train (is Bound for Glory) by Woody Guthrie.

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The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Updated: 26 Jan 2016

The Lion Sleeps Tonight, also known as "Wimoweh", "Wimba Way" or "Awimbawe", is a song written and recorded originally by Solomon Linda with the Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939, under the title "Mbube". Composed in Zulu, it was adapted and covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba and the Kingston Trio.

Related Books & Charts

Related Books for Red River Valley.

HL00240356

The Daily Ukulele

Updated: 16 Feb 2024

Strum a different song every day with easy arrangements of 365 of your favorite songs in one big songbook! The Daily Ukulele features ukulele arrangements with melody, lyrics and uke chord grids and are in ukulele-friendly keys that are particularly suited for groups of one to one hundred to play and sing.

A Selection of Books & Reference Charts that are recommended for creating a solid foundation with your chosen instrument and music in general.

Books

Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard – C Tuning

Finally, learn the names of the notes of the fingerboard.

Six Secrets of Ukulele Fingering

Learn the six fingering principles to navigating the ukulele fingerboard. Fingering is one of the most universal topics.

Harmonic Analysis for Scale Selection and Chord Substitution

Harmonic Analysis is the understanding of the functional sequence of chords. It is the process used to analyze the harmonic structure of a progression, song or composition.

Ukulele – Reading Music Series – Primer

Learn to read single note melodies in the first/open position is a lot easier than you might think.

Daily Practice Material for the Contemporary Ukulele

An organized collection of daily practice and reference material for the contemporary ukulele player for developing the vocabulary and knowledge necessary for single note playing.

Checkout the Books for ALL available books.

Reference Charts

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G - G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G – G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

Key Signatures — Circle of Fourths and Fifths – ANSI A & A4 sizes

A handy reference chart of all 15 major and relative minor key signatures. US Letter 8.5 x 11 sized (ANSI-A) , A4

Checkout the Books for additional Handy, Dandy Reference Charts.

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