Red River Valley
USA/Canada Lyrics
We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our path for a while.
Come and sit by my side if you love me,
Do not hasten to bid me adieu,
But remember the Red River Valley,
And the cowboy that loved you so true.
History and Meaning
A folk song and cowboy music standard of uncertain origins, possibly relating to the Red River of the South (Texas/Oklahoma) or the Red River of the North (North Dakota/Manitoba). Canadian folklorist Edith Fowke presented evidence suggesting the song originated around 1870 in the Red River Valley of the North during the Red River Rebellion in Manitoba, telling of a Métis woman bidding farewell to an English-speaking soldier. The earliest known written manuscript dates to 1879 in Iowa, and the song was known in at least five Canadian provinces before 1896. However, it became strongly associated with American cowboy culture when Carl T. Sprague made the first commercial recording as "Cowboy Love Song" in 1925, and Gene Autry featured it in his 1936 film, cementing its place as a beloved Western standard.