Shenandoah

Sissel, the international singing sensation from Norway, is widely regarded as one of the finest and most talented sopranos in the world. Her crystal clear voice has made Sissel a national institution in Norway. Sissel has sung all over the world, selling over six million solo albums. She contributed the haunting vocal tracks for the soundtrack to Titanic. She has been doing great duets with singers like Placido Domingo, Charles Aznavour, Taro Ichihara, Bryn Terfel, Jose Carreras, Russell Watson, Kurt Nilsen, Neil Sedaka and Josh Groban. A very remarkable voice you will only hear once in your lifetime. "Shenandoah" (also called "Oh Shenandoah", or "Across the Wide Missouri") is an American folk song, dating to the early 19th century. The lyrics may tell the story of a roving trader in love with the daughter of an Indian chief; in this interpretation, the rover tells the chief of his intent to take the girl with him far to the west, across the Missouri River. Other interpretations tell of a pioneer's nostalgia for the Shenandoah River Valley in Virginia, and a young woman who is its daughter; or of a Union soldier in the American Civil War, dreaming of his country home to the west of the Missouri river, in Shenandoah, Iowa (though the town lies some 50 miles east of the river). The provenance of the song is unclear. The song is also associated with escaped slaves. They were said to sing the song in gratitude because the river allowed their scent to be lost.
The Shenandoah area made many parts like wheels and seats for wagons going west. These parts were assembled in Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and settlers set out in Conestoga wagons down the Ohio River, on the Mississippi and west up the Missouri River. Lyrics were undoubtedly added by rivermen, settlers, and the millions who went west. With possible origins in Virginia, noting that its title is also the name of a Virginia river, the song has been considered for Virginia's official state song.