Shady Grove (song)

"Shady Grove" is an 18th-century folk song popular in the United States. It is a standard in the repertoires of folk, Celtic and bluegrass musicians. In most traditional versions, the melody is in a minor key. However, Bill Monroe's and some subsequent bluegrass versions use a major-key variation.

Many verses exist, most of them describing the speaker's love for a woman called Shady Grove. There are also various choruses, which refer to the speaker traveling somewhere (to Harlan, to a place called Shady Grove, or simply "away"). Some have said there have been over 300 stanzas written and added as variations. One of the most recognized cover version belongs to Charlene Darling and the Darling boys on an episode of The Andy Griffith Show (Divorce, Mountain Style (1964)), portrayed by Maggie Peterson and The Dillards.

The melody is strikingly similar to, and almost certainly based on, that of an old English ballad, "Matty Groves".

Recordings

Well over 100 artists have recorded this song, notably:

• Doc Watson
• Bill Monroe
• Jerry Garcia, Tony Rice and David Grisman on the Pizza Tapes
• Jerry Garcia and David Grisman also recorded it on their album of the same name
• Big Joe Williams
• Blitzen Trapper
• Blood Oranges
• Quicksilver Messenger Service on the album of the same name
• J.J. Cale on the album Number 10
• Jean Ritchie
• The Kingston Trio performed on their live album "...from the Hungry i"
• Richard Fariña
• Patty Loveless
• Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
• Kerosene Brothers, also better known as Hayseed Dixie
• Crooked Still
• Mudcrutch, Tom Petty's first band, on their debut album released in 2008
• Kris Drever
• Pinmonkey
• The Everly Brothers
• The Chieftains with Tim O'Brien on the album Further Down the Old Plank Road (2003)
• Dawud Wharnsby
• Pernell Roberts

In popular culture

"Shady Grove" is part of the soundtrack of Take This Hammer [1], a movie about the building of dry stack stone walls.

The song can be heard on one of the in-game radios in Episode 2 of the Xbox360 and PC game Alan Wake.

External links

• "Mattie Groves", an old English ballad with a very similar melody.
• A live version of "Shady Grove" by Doc Watson recorded at the 1996 Florida Folk Festival; made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida.