Shady Grove

About "Shady Grove"

I first heard a version of this old traditional bluegrass tune on the 1959 Kingston Trio album "...From The Hungry i" and loved to play it on my banjo up in my room when I was 19 years old - driving my parents crazy I am sure. In 2005 I nicked the choruses, as well as the first and forth verses, supplementing them with my own self-penned additional verses to create a somewhat "ghostly" story of lost love - where the forlorn widower lives alone in the woods accompanied by the spirit of his dead lover. I think I was somewhat inspired by the haunting lyrics of old folk songs like "The Two Sisters" , "The Highwayman" or perhaps Richard Thompson's "Crazy Man Michael" - and also by my excessive travel away from my own dear soul-mate. Couldn't find a CD that would make a good home for this tune, so I hope it finds an audience on the world-wide web.

View fan-made video for the "Shady Grove" here.

Shady Grove
(Words: D. Wharnsby / Music: Traditional Arr. D.Wharnsby)

Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove my love.
Shady Grove, my little love, I’m bound for Shady Grove.

First time I saw my Shady Grove, standing by the door.
Shoes and stockings in her hand and little bare feet on the floor.

Next I saw my Shady Grove, running down the path.
I love to see her smiling eyes and I love to hear her laugh.

Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove my love.
Shady Grove, my little love, I’m bound for Shady Grove.

Last I saw my Shady Grove, by the river’s foam.
Water took my world away and left me all alone.
The waves washed my world away and left me all alone.

Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove I say.
Shady Grove, my little love, why’d you go away?

Peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall,
if I can’t have the girl I love I won’t have none at all.

You’ll find me in the Shady Grove, living on my own.
I feel my love in the shadows there and I’m never all alone.
I hear her laugh in the Shady Grove and I’m never all alone.

Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove my love.
Shady Grove, my little love, I’m bound for Shady Grove.