# Banks of the Ohio

## Classification

- Queue shelf: dark
- Current website category: public-domain
- Research category: public-domain
- Rights status: traditional-variant-awaiting-review
- Confidence: working-variant-review

## Writer / Source

Traditional murder ballad; no single verified author located in project files

## Earliest Located Evidence

Collected/recorded in early twentieth-century Appalachian and commercial country traditions

## Context

Traditional ballad family with early collected forms; use only Scrips/public-domain-derived wording.

## Rights Assessment

Older song or tune family. The source of this particular working version and its arrangement is still being reviewed. These working notes do not establish clearance of the exact lyric, tune variant, or arrangement. Historical references below are research leads unless a specific comparison is documented.

## Source Links

- https://archives.vwml.org/search?collectionfilter=RoudFS;RoudNumber=157
- https://www.loc.gov/collections/

## Local Scrips Evidence

- Current source text: src/_content/song-text/banks-of-the-ohio.txt
- Existing site status: listed in master repertoire, unknown
- Existing site notes: lyric/chord sheet present; listed in master list; appears in setlist

## Scrips Arrangement Notes

The text/chords supplied here follow the Scrips working source where available. Differences from older printed or collected versions should be treated as arrangement choices unless separately documented.

## Chords / Key / Tuning

- Key: not documented
- Capo: not documented
- Tuning/comment: not documented

## Alternate Titles / Indexes

- Alternate titles: Down on the Banks of the Ohio
- Roud number: Roud 157

## Open Questions

- Only the dark canonical entry remains. Check the apparent missing word in “we’ll happy”; supply the progression, key, capo and tuning. The removed light record is preserved internally.
- Identify the exact text/tune variant and arrangement used by the band before treating this working sheet as publication-cleared.

## Website review — 2026-08-30

Lyrics supplied; chords and musical metadata missing. The text and chord export were inspected for usable content; file existence is not a completed-song-sheet check. Final performance accuracy remains for the band to approve.