Away, Rio

Informant/Performers: Source:
Leighton Robinson, Alex Barr, Library of Congress AFS 4232 A
Arthur Brodeur, Leighton McKenzie Collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell
Belvedere, CA, 1939
Slowly
q. = 54

Solo: Group:

O Ri o Grande lies far a way, Way Ri o,
Solo: Group:

O Ri o Grande lies far a way and we're bound for the Ri o Grande.

Chorus: (sung twice after first verse on recording)

And a way Ri o, It's a way Ri o,

Sing ing fare you well my bon nie young gel, and we're bound for the Ri o Grande.
Transcribed by Anne Laskey
2. I thought I heard our old man say... 5. Oh, I left my old woman a month's back pay...
(Chorus)
6. So heave up our anchor, away we must go...
3. Two dollars a day is a sailor's pay...
(Chorus)

4. So it's back up your donkey* and get underway...

* a small engine used to operate deck machinery such as winches and derricks

Background Information
"Away, Rio" was a capstan or windlass chantey, used for taking in the anchor. It was often the first song sung on
an outward-bound voyage, and was popular on both British and American ships. "Rio" was always pronounced
"Rye-o."

The Rio Grande referred to in this song is not the one that forms the border between Mexico and the United
States (Río Grande del Norte), but the one in the southernmost part of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul). The state of
Rio Grande do Sul is the most southerly in Brazil, and contains its largest wine producing area. South and west
lie the pampas areas of Uruguay and Argentina, northward the rest of Brazil, while the eastern part of the state is
a wide low-lying zone separated from the Atlantic by two great lagoons, navigable by the largest vessels, the
Lagoa dos Patos and the Lagoa Mirim. For over 300 miles, these are separated from the ocean by two barren
peninsulas consisting mainly of sandy beach and dunes.

The Rio Grande is not strictly a river, but forms a 24-mile long channel through this sandbar, enabling shipping
to reach the lagoons and the navigable rivers beyond. The city of Rio Grande itself is the oldest city in the state,
founded in 1737, and today it is Brazil's second busiest port. It also claims the longest beach in the world with
155 miles of uninterrupted Atlantic coastline. Doerflinger says: "It was a beautiful place, and the sailors used to
love it—and the song was sung by seamen all over the world." http://kodaly.hnu.edu