CD's to date:
Songs of the West

Four Cords 

     As I mentioned elsewhere on this webpage, I learned "The Wreck of  the Shenandoah" in the late 1930s from a 78 rpm record belonging to my parents. If my memory is correct, about the same time I also learned the song on the other side, "The Letter Edged in Black," both songs sung by Vernon Dahlhart. Obviously, "The Wreck of the Shenandoah" is on this CD, and "The Letter Edged in Black" is on the Folkways Record "Songs of the West," now available from the Smithsonian on cassette and CD.
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At four o'clock one evening
Of a bright September day
A great and mighty airship
From Lakehurst flew away,
The mighty Shenandoah,
The pride of all this land,
The crew was of the bravest,
Captain Lansdown in command.

At four o'clock next morning,
The earth was far below,
When a storm in all its fury
Struck her a fatal blow,
For hours she bravely struggled,
She fought with all her might,
But the storm could not be conquered
And the ship gave up the fight.

    Her sides were torn asunder,
    The cabin was torn down,
    The captain and his brave men
    Went crashing to the ground,
    And fourteen lives were taken,
    But they've not died in vain,
    Their names will live forever
    Within the hall of fame.

In the little town of Greenville,
A mother's watchful eye
Was waiting for the airship
To see her son go by,
But, alas, her boy lay sleeping,
His last great flight was o'er,
He has gone to meet his maker,
And his ship will fly no more.

    A loving wife and children,
    A mother's broken heart,
    They're mourning for their loved one
    Since the storm tore them apart,
    But their faith will not be shaken,
    They'll see him by and by,
    They know he waits in heaven,
    Where the brave go when they die.