"Red River Valley", also known as "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley" and "Bright Little Valley" depending on where it has been sung is a folk song of uncertain origins. The earliest known written manuscript of the lyrics, titled "The Red River Valley", bears the notations "Nemaha 1879" and "Harlan 1885". Nemaha and Harlan are the names of counties in Nebraska and are also the names of towns in Iowa. There are two Red Rivers - the Red River of the North forms the border between Minnesota and North Dakota and flow northward into Manitoba, Canada. It empties into Lake Winnipeg and ultimately flows into Hudson Bay. The Red River of the South forms the border between Texas and Oklahoma.It flows into Louisiana and joins the Atchafalaya River. This is most likely the Red River of the song. The song appears in sheet music, titled "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", printed in New York in 1896 with James J. Kerrigan as the writer. It is listed as Roud Folk Song Index #756. The tune and lyrics were collected and published in Carl Sandburg's American Songbag (1927) and Lomax's Best Loved American Folk Songs. It has been recorded by Kelly Harrell, Woody Guthrie, Roy Acuff, Arlo Guthrie, Lynn Anderson, the Andrews Sisters, Eddy Arnold, Boxcar Willie, Riders of the Purple Sage, Tex Ritter, Marty Robbins, Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Rogers, Pete Seeger, the Sons of the Pioneers, Roger Whittaker, Glenn Yarbrough and George Strait.