KelticDead Music

The mission of the KelticDead Music initiative is to find tunes and songs from around the world that have

Celtic, Folk, World, Americana, and Seafaring origins, and arrange them into simple sheet music formats for folk

musicians to use, as well as provide links for the music that follows the arrangements to help in hearing how it can be

played. In addition, other links are provided for the stories and possible lyrics about the selections within video-based,

KDM Broadsides for a music-education experience.

All the selections and sheet music content provided in the KelticDead Music initiative are from traditional,

made-public, made-public with credits, or cited credits where applicable. This material content is given with

permissions. Patrick O. Young, KelticDead Music.

Shady Grove

Shady Grove is an American, Appalachian

song that is based upon a Scots ballad

called “Barbara Allan.” The melody used in

“Shady Grove” is based upon the tune

from “Mattie Groves.”

In the English ballad Barbara Allan was a

beautiful, but jealous woman, and she loved

a man or a prince named William. In the

older ballad, Barbara and William were in

some type of public place, and William was

drinking a bit too much. He stupidly gave a

toast to some ladies which enraged

Barbara, and she left him there to return

home in a distant place.

Made public print from a

book of ballads from

In the ballad, we gather that this rift lasted

for quite some time, but it was also evident

Scotland.

that William loved Barbara intensely. For

whatever reason in this period of separation

William became ill, and he was dying.

He called for Barbara to his death bed, and

though Barbara came, she somehow

thought that William had simply contrived

the illness to regain her favor.

While she loved William, she hardened her feelings and was cruel to

him. She walked away intending to leave him again, but when she

heard the death knell, she realized that William had passed away.

This was the moment she was overcome with grief, and she returned

to his side promising that she too would die, so that they could be

together in the afterlife.

Continued …

KelticDead Folk Music Broadsides