The Bright Mohawk Valley

Performed at Lola in Kensington Market, Toronto , Ontario, July 6, 2024.
Split Gig with Sean Peever.
Video credit: Kanhav Boliwal
The Bright Mohawk Valley is a great example of a traditional Folk melody whose lyrics evolved as people migrated from one locality to another. The first published words by James Kerrigan in 1896 are believed to be the original version, about a sweetheart leaving the Mohawk Valley of New York State. Most people today know it as the Red River Valley, a cowboy love song set along the Red River that forms the border between Arkansas and Texas. I discovered the story about this song on the Old Fort Johnson National Historic Landmark Facebook page.