Shadows of the Wildwood
(Bob Nolan)
Out in the west where skies are blue,
A tiny spot I knew
Is calling from the shadows of the wildwood.
And there’s an ivy-covered shack.
A wishing well in back
Is hidden in the shadows of the wildwood.
There in the window is a candlelight shining, you see,
And by the fireside a true heart is pining for me.
There I will live forevermore.
An angel by the door
Is waiting in the shadows of the wildwood.
There in the window is a candlelight shining, you see,
And by the fireside a true heart is pining for me.
There I will live forevermore.
An angel by the door
Is waiting in the shadows of the wildwood.
(Bob wrote an unrecorded introductory verse as well: )
Longing, longing, dreams come thronging,
Old songs fill the air.
Singing, ringing, twilight’s bringing
Thoughts I can hardly bear.
(Sung by Martha Mears)
The above words were taken directly from "Bob Nolan’s Folio of Original Cowboy Classics No. 2", © 1940 by AMERICAN MUSIC, INC. "Shadows of the Wildwood" was originally written as a poem, recalling the days he spent as a child in rural New Brunswick, Canada, on his grandparents' homestead. He was a lonely, solitary child and every minute he could spare from his chores, he spent in the bush he called his "wildwood". The late Elsie Boyd, a distant relative of Bob's and a longtime neighbour of his grandparents, remembered exactly where the old well stood on the farm.
The song was recorded in 1940 for the Orthacoustic "Symphonies of the Sage" and then in 1943 by Martha Mears when the Pioneers were part of her 10-2-4 Ranch radio program for Dr. Pepper. In the latter, Martha sings the song as a solo, changing the words somewhat to reflect the feelings of the servicemen away from home during WWII.
A copy of the lyrics was found in Bob Nolan's repertoire box. Photocopies of sheet music for this song are available from Calin Coburn, Bob Nolan's grandson. Email Calin for more details.
The old well Bob remembered as a wishing well stood near this tree in Hatfield Point, New Brunswick, Canada.
Photo courtesy of Marsha Boyd Mitchell.
Bob's "wildwood" at the perimeters of the farm.
Photo courtesy of Marsha Boyd Mitchell.
CALIN COBURN COLLECTION IMAGE: Volume 2, #144
p. 44 Bob Nolan’s Folio of Original Cowboy Classics No. 2", © 1940 by AMERICAN MUSIC, INC.