Shenandoah – Geoff Castellucci - Confessions of a Chord Junkie

Not being an American, I went on a hunt to read up on this song, and what it means to people. ‘Nostalgia’ was the overwhelming theme I came across – people associate it with their childhood, sitting on their grandfather’s knee as he played it on piano; auditions for choirs; family road trips across Virginia and the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. There are many versions of this song, one of the most popular being the 1961 rendition by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Whenever I’m analyzing a cover, I first like to take a look at the original (or in this case, one of the more popular versions) so I can compare and contrast and truly appreciate the choices made in the arrangement.

This song…this arrangement…this performance is absolutely beautiful. I thought I’d give you another glimpse into how I listen to music so you can see why I appreciate arrangements like this so much. There were three moments in particular that delighted me…

Right off the bat, the intro hanger note of Geoff’s cover at 0:09 (A2) across several chords caught my ear. It’s the fifth in the first chord (D); interestingly, the minor seventh in the second chord (Bmin); and deliciously, the second in chord #3 (G). See below for my thoughts on the seconds in chords…

Starting at 0:16, the recurring A/G-ish chord (A-C#-D over G) which resolves to a G major triad (G-B-D) REALLY caught my ear.

The A/G gives both an add2 and an augmented fourth to the G chord, which, for me, gives these recurring moments in the song a warm, momentary Lydian feel. Depending on context, Lydian to me always sounds either mystical and magical, or, in this case, hopeful and comforting, warm and delicious. The background singers mimic this same Lydian-feel chord progression at 2:27…but more on that later… ;) Any add2 chord is already going to be my favourite as for some reason, this chord automatically gives me shivers/goosebumps. It evokes an emotion in me that is hard for me to describe – maybe I’ll be more successful in subsequent analyses. An add2 (or add9) resolving to its triad is one of the most beautiful progressions.

The first note of the verse at 0:29 is a most perfectly hit, beautifully resonant, delicious, deep, delicious (oops, I said that already) chest A1 – a perfect introduction to a Low Bass Singer song. And, lucky us, he’s given us THREE of these wonderful A1s in this intro. During the intro verse, the piano decay has been sustained, providing us with a sustained root D throughout this section, grounding it and providing a bit of lightness and even more interest to this section. Even with that sustained D throughout, however, the chord structure is delightfully ambiguous, which makes revelations in the second verse more impactful. The timing of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s version of this song is pretty much all ad lib, something that Geoff has also done with his first verse. The ad lib timing here really sets up the song as though a story is being told, a story from the heart.

At 1:25, the second verse starts an octave higher verse than the first, something Geoff loves to do (and I love to listen to) which really shows off his range, and also escalates the emotion of the song. When a song gets higher in pitch, excitement is starting to ramp up. Also adding interest to this second verse are slightly more complex chords. As the intro was slightly ambiguous with only the sustained root in the piano decay, this has left Geoff lots of different avenues he could have gone, but his choice of heading to that F# min chord in the D – F#min – G – A – D progression, combined with this verse sung in a higher octave, just makes this verse extra sentimental.

At 1:50 on the words “bound away,” the background vocals employ the same Lydian feel as the A/G we heard in the opening – a nice call-back.

✸DELIGHTFUL MOMENT #1: “Across the wide Missouri” (1:56) – the melody line goes down to D and we, the audience, expect the chord to also go to D, but the chord instead goes to G, making that D of the melody the fifth of the chord instead. Ahhhh…one of the most delightful choices to make in music: a perfectly hit perfect fifth. I had to pause the song at this part the first time I heard it, close my eyes, and just take it in for a moment. This choice sounded extra warm and cozy and beautiful.✸

2:19 – I highlighted this section as one of my favourite chord progressions, but I’m not really sure what to say about it other than to highlight it. Pay particular attention to the background vocals here: Dmaj, F#sus4 leading to F#min… A/G (Lydian feel) again briefly in background vocals leading to C#^Ø/G and finally resolving to Dmaj.

On top of those chords, now paying attention to the lead singer in the “round” section,” the piano player comes in singing the melody in the lower octave, but then peels off to the root. Super interesting to my ears.

✸DELIGHTFUL MOMENT #2: The Unexpected Gmin Chord (2:34). I wasn’t expecting that (hence the title). It’s quick, lasting only a few seconds, and then we are back in key. Super quick, super effective. Departures from the norm like this make my soul perk up. Another close-my-eyes moment.✸

2:45 gives us, in the background vocals, F#min (1^st inversion) – Bmin7 – Gadd2. It’s subtle – you’re going to have to close your eyes and home in and listen closely…

The A carries through this progression which marries these chords so tastefully and makes them all make sense together.

“Across the wide” (2:50) – All singers sang this melody line without harmony, repeating it in unison, then the piano player sings same melody going up to the same octave as the background singers, and THEN all singers split into a nice wide harmony chord (2:55), foreshadowing the excitement of the key change in the next measure. The key change, introduced by cymbals crashing like waves in the river, is up a whole step; usually key changes are only a half step, so this feels even more exciting.

2:59 – This chord progression previously has been I followed by iii, but this time it is I followed by I (1st inversion).

If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that I have an immediate emotional reaction to 1^st inversion chords – they usually evoke sweet sadness and almost immediately bring tears to my eyes…but interestingly, not in this case. This choice in chord progression, to me, is absolutely perfect for the last verse. It has more of a feeling of hope…expectation…leading the listener into the climax of the song.

✸DELIGHTFUL MOMENT #3: I spent a LOT of time analyzing and appreciating these amazing chords (3:36). What incredible choices (correct me if I’m wrong in my analysis here): starting on the last chord of the word “wide,” we get F#7, A, Am7/G, F# half -diminished (F#^ø), F#dim7 (F#°7), resolving to E.

That shift to Am7/G was absolutely shiver-inducing, and F#^ø is so unusual and so extra tasty. From Wikipedia: “The half-diminished seventh chord is frequently used in passages that convey heightened emotion.” As I was working through these chords, I teared up with each realization.✸

Chords, man. They get me right in the feels.

Trickpants

March 31, 2023 at 3:39 pm

In the second-to-last paragraph, there’s a section you wrote that really struck me: “This choice in chord progression, to me, is absolutely perfect for the last verse. It has more of a feeling of hope…expectation…leading the listener into the climax of the song.”

I’ve noticed that this is the feeling I get a lot with Geoff’s music. Even the sadder songs I tend to feel has an element of hope within them. There are so many songs he’s made that I could use as an example, but the ones I keep coming back to when I need comfort is “High & Dry” and “Shenandoah”. Whenever I listen to them, I’m reminded of what you once said about Geoff’s voice and music – That it feels like a hug to you. I couldn’t agree more, there’s truly something warm and comforting in his voice and music that makes it feel like he’s giving me a hug and telling me “It’s okay that you’re not doing well right now. Just breathe.”

Shannon
April 6, 2023 at 10:57 pm

When this song comes on, I automatically take a deep breath and immediately feel calmer. It really is like a musical hug 🙂

Tine

March 31, 2023 at 5:17 pm

“The key change, introduced by cymbals crashing like waves in the river, is up a whole step; usually key changes are only a half step, so this feels even more exciting.”

That description made my heart smile ♥

What a wonderful new blog post, Angie! So wonderful

Shannon

April 6, 2023 at 10:55 pm

I didn’t think I could love Geoff’s Shenandoah more than I already did, but I was wrong. Wonderful post, thank you Angie!

Shenandoah – Geoff Castellucci

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