Bamboo/River Come Down

[Johnny_L.A]

Bamboo played on my iPod. I wondered where the song came from, so I searched a lyric. My search returned River Come Down by Dave van Ronk. The Wikipedia article on PP&M’s eponymous album credits Dave van Ronk for the song.

So is it original to van Ronk? Or did he, having been a folk singer, pick it up somewhere else? If the latter, whence?

I’ve liked the song since childhood. (My sister was a PP&M fan back when she was a hippie.) But I haven’t really thought about what it’s about. ISTM that it portrays idyllic life along a river, where there are no cares, and you can amuse yourself my throwing a stick of bamboo into the water and watch it float away. Unless I’m missing something. And who’s Hanna, anyway?

ETA: And… Just as I post, I see this in the comments of the River Come Down video:

@Brian Youmans

In concert, van Ronk would tell the story of how he wrote this song as something for someone to practice guitar on, and after he wrote the music he threw some lyrics together, just any old nonsense that matched the tune. And of course Peter, Paul, and Mary had a hit with it.

I don’t know if it’s true. If it is, then van Ronk wrote it. End of story. But hey, I shared a couple versions for your enjoyment.

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