When I initially heard the folk song “He’s Gone Away,” I thought it would make a lovely counter-perspective if paired with the ubiquitous “Shenandoah.” The result is a dramatic song that tells the story of two lovers separated, and singing to the same sky. To me, it almost feels like a musical-theatre ballad. I also incorporated “O Waly Waly” in the Bridge, and many of the traditional folk melodies have been modified dramatically in some phrases, so I don’t believe this sounds like a “same old-same old” arrangement.

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