The Beautiful and Mysterious Shenandoah, and Its Native American Roots

The Beautiful and Mysterious Shenandoah, and Its Native American Roots

Hello and welcome to the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories.

Every word has its own story. Where did it come from? How did it get into the language?

Today’s word in “Shenandoah.”

Hundreds of years ago a Native American chief named Shenandoah lived with his tribes in what is now the state of Virginia. Little is known about Shenandoah, but in some way, the soft sound of his name was given to a river.

The Shenandoah River still flows in a deep valley between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge¹ Mountains, just as it did when Chief Shenandoah lived. It is a slow moving river, soft and as beautiful as its name.

There are some word experts who believe the word “Shenandoah” means “spruce river” because the waters of the river run through great forests of spruce trees.

And this explanation could be correct.

However, there is an old Native American story which is far more beautiful than that of the experts.

Long ago, centuries before Europeans came to the New World, there was a great lake of sparkling blue water hidden in the mountains of Virginia. This lake was 250 kilometers long and 50 kilometers wide.

For hundreds of years, Native American tribes lived near this lake, feeding on the fish from its clean waters.

The Native Americans often climbed up the mountains and camped there during their long hunts for food. In the evenings they sat near their camp and looked down at the beautiful lake.

On a clear, starry² night you could see thousands of stars shining and dancing on the water below. The Native Americans loved this lake, and because they could see the stars in it they called the lake, “Clear Daughter of the Stars.”

In their language, the word for this was “Shenandoah.”

One day there was a loud crashing sound at one end of the lake. The lake started to disappear. Its water ran out of the valley, through a break in the mountain side. The waters ran on and on until they joined another river which today is known as the Potomac.

At last, the lake was gone. In its place was only a river. It is this way today. The lake is gone, but the beautiful Shenandoah River runs on.

And on a clear night, anyone in the mountains can still see the stars dancing on the water.

Shenandoah National Park, a place for nature lovers

Shenandoah National Park has just over 80,000 hectares of protected lands. The park has cascading³ waterfalls, beautiful mountain vistas⁵ and serene⁶ woods.

Located outside of Washington, DC, the Shenandoah National Park is a popular get-away for people wanting to hike, picnic or nature-watch.

Millions of Americans have seen the Shenandoah and have talked about it.

And some years ago, someone wrote a song about it.

“Shenandoah” is perhaps one of America’s most recognizable folk songs. Some say the song refers to the river. Others say it is about the daughter of Chief Shenandoah.

Regardless of what the song is about, "Shenandoah" remains⁷ an American classic.

“O Shenandoah, I love your daughter, Away you rolling river; O Shenandoah, I love your daughter, Away I'm bound to go, 'Cross the wide Missouri …”

And that brings us to the end of this episode of Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

sparkling – adj. to give off small flashes of light sparkled.>

cascading – adj. to flow or fall rapidly and in large quantity

vista⁴ – n. a large and beautiful view of an area of land or water

serene – adj. being calm and quiet

1 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

2 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

3 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

4 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

5 vistas   

长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景

参考例句：

• This new job could open up whole new vistas for her. 这项新工作可能给她开辟全新的前景。
• The picture is small but It'shows broad vistas. 画幅虽然不大，所表现的天地却十分广阔。

6 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。