Banks of the Ohio

"Banks of the Ohio" (Laws F5, Roud 157), also known as "Down on the Banks of the Ohio", is a 19th-century murder ballad, written by unknown authors, in which "Willie" invites his young lover for a walk during which she rejects his marriage proposal. Once they are alone on the river bank, he murders the young woman.

The song is superficially similar to other murder ballads in the idiom such as Omie Wise and more especially Pretty Polly, which is also generally narrated in the first person by a killer called Willie. However, it differs significantly in the narrative; the killer explains why he killed his love, and spends much of the song expressing his sorrow and regret. Musically, it is distinguished by a long refrain which calmly reflects the love and the hopes for the future which he felt before the murder. This gives a different psychological tone to the song, and accompanying singers (or indeed the audience) the possibility of singing along in chorus.

Another not so well known version of the song is entitled "On the Banks of the Old Pedee".

The lyrics are sometimes adapted for a female singer.

Commercial country music recordings started in 1927 with versions by Red Patterson's Piedmont Log Rollers (as "Down By The Banks Of The Ohio") and by Grayson and Whitter (as "I'll Never Be Yours"). Other early country music stars who recorded the song included Ernest Stoneman (1928), The Callahan Brothers (1934), The Blue Sky Boys (1936), Clayton McMichen (1931) and The Monroe Brothers (1936). The Blue Sky Boys version appears in the soundtrack of the 1973 film Paper Moon.

The song was recorded for the American folk music revival market by Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1953) and by the traditional singer Ruby Vass on a 1959 field recording made by Alan Lomax and issued on the LP (and subsequent CD) series Southern Journey. It was recorded several times by Joan Baez: in 1959 as the opening track for the album Folksingers 'Round Harvard Square; in 1961 in her album Joan Baez, Vol. 2; on the 1968 Newport Folk Festival album; and other recordings. It was included on the 2011 CD compilation Voice of the People.

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