Multiple bands use this name:

1) An alternative country band with a … Read Full Bio ↴Multiple bands use this name:

1) An alternative country band with a strong bluegrass background, the Blood Oranges were fronted by Jim Ryan, a singer/songwriter who led the group on a custom-produced electric mandolin. Born in New York in 1957, Ryan was first introduced to traditional American bluegrass and folk as a child through the state university in his hometown of Binghamton, where a local country and blues organization sponsored shows highlighting the nation's musical roots. After spending his formative years attending bluegrass festivals, he began honing his own skills as a performer by playing with fiddlers and pickers of all ages and musical backgrounds.

Ryan formed the Blood Oranges in the late '80s with bassist/vocalist Cheri Knight, guitarist Mark Spencer, and drummer Ron Ward as a forum for fusing his love of traditional music along with his interest in rock & roll; while Ryan's twangy vocals and bluegrass background stood as the dominant elements of their sound, the Blood Oranges' experimental nature aligned their music more strongly with the Americana movement of the 1990s than with any stripe of straightforward country. In 1991, the band issued its debut album, Corn River, a collection of bluegrass originals combined with renditions of classics like "Dig a Hole" and "Shady Grove." Both 1992's Lone Green Valley and 1994's The Crying Tree continued to refine the quartet's distinctive sound. In 1994, the Blood Oranges disbanded. Spencer later joined Lisa Loeb's touring band and Knight continued as a solo performer. Ryan and Spencer ultimately reunited in Wooden Leg.

2) Lo-Fi Pop band from Leeds UK

Rose Alexander - Girl Vocals/Casiotone/Guitar

Ben Lewis - Boy Vocals/Guitar

Sarah Bell - Bass Guitar

Jack Gordon - Drums

Set to be one of the most hyped C86 Lo-Fi pop bands in the UK by the start of the new year. An intelligent music fans band, guys with beards will like them, and boys in skinny jeans will pretend to like them to look cool. older music fans will also like them cos of their influences; The music is catchy and fresh, whilst the vocals are quite unusual for the modern age: emotional and haunting, they really draw you in.

Influences:

Olympia, Washington 1982

Salford, Manchester 1984

Glasgow, Scotland 1986

Stockton, California 1992

Cardiff, Wales 2007

Shady Grove
Blood Oranges Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I was a little boy
I wanted to borrow night
Now I am a great big man
And Shady Grove's my wife
Her cheeks is red as a blooming rose
And her eyes the prettiest brown
She's the darling of my heart
The sweetest girl in town

Shady Grove my true love
Shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my true love
I'm going back to Harlan
Shady Grove my true love
Shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my true love
I'm going back to Harlan

Peaches in the summertime
Apples in the fall
If I can't have my Shady Grove
I'll have no love at all
Some come here to fiddle and dance
Some come here to tarry
Some come here to fiddle and dance
Some come here to marry

Shady Grove my true love
Shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my true love
I'm going back to Harlan
Shady Grove my true love
Shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my true love
I'm going back to Harlan

Shady Grove my true love
Shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my true love
I'm going back to Harlan
Shady Grove my true love
Shady Grove my darling

Shady Grove my true love
I'm going back to Harlan

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Blood Oranges’ song, “Shady Grove,” convey a deep sense of devotion and love for a woman named Shady Grove. The singer describes how he has grown up and become a man, but his love for Shady Grove has remained constant. Her rosy cheeks and beautiful brown eyes make her the “darling” of his heart and the “sweetest girl” in town. The chorus repeats the phrase “Shady Grove my true love” several times, emphasizing the depth of the singer’s love and commitment to this woman.

The lyrics also mention peaches in the summertime and apples in the fall, expressing the cycle of nature and how life fluctuates just as love does. The singer states that he cannot have any love at all if he cannot have Shady Grove. The final lines discuss how people come to this place for various reasons, including to fiddle and dance, tarry, or marry. However, the singer is there for Shady Grove alone. The song evokes a sense of simple and pure love and expresses the idea that the heart wants what it wants, regardless of what others are doing or why they are doing it.

Line by Line Meaning

When I was a little boy
Back in my childhood days

I wanted to borrow night
I longed for the darkness of the night

Now I am a great big man
Now as an adult

And Shady Grove's my wife
And Shady Grove is now my wife

Her cheeks is red as a blooming rose
Her rosy cheeks bloom like a rose

And her eyes the prettiest brown
Her pretty brown eyes

She's the darling of my heart
She's the one I love

The sweetest girl in town
She's the sweetest girl in the whole town

Shady Grove my true love
My true love is Shady Grove

Shady Grove my darling
My darling is Shady Grove

I'm going back to Harlan
I'm returning back to Harlan