|
Footprints in the Snow
Minstrel/Bluegrass Song. The song has been composed many times! It was first composed by J. Henry Whittemore; words by J. B. Murphy [1866]; then words and music by Harry Wright in 1880's; then Jackson (words) and Bennett (Music) 1886; The bluegrass versions are slightly different too!
ARTIST: Words by J. B. Murphy Composed by J. Henry Whittemore; Published by J. Henry Whittemore, 174 Jefferson Ave., Detroit [1866]. As sung by Lew Benedict of Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: 1866 (1931- First Recorded)
RECORDING INFO: Earnest Branch and His West Virginia ramblers 1931; Red Foley recorded it circa March 1934 and Cliff Carlisle in July 1939. Monroe recorded it in February 1945. Columbia CS 1065, Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys - "16 All-Time Greatest Hits" (1). Folkways FA 2355, Clint Howard & Fred Price - "Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley's" (1961). Old Homestead OHCS 141, Bernice Coleman & the West Virginia Ramblers - "West Virginia Hills: Early Recordings from West Virginia" (1982. Reissue). Old Homestead OHCS 314, "Bradley Kincaid, Vol. 1" (1984. Reissue). Vanguard 107/8, Doc Watson, Clint Howard & Fred Price - "Old Timey Concert" (1987).
OTHER NAMES: Little Foot Prints; Related Melody- "Little Stream of Whiskey."
SOURCES:Mudcat Discussion Forum; Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc; Country Music Sources;
NOTES: "Words and Music by Harry Wright in 1880's; Jackson (words) and Bennett (Music) 1886" (Meade). "Footprints in the Snow" was popularized by mandolin player Bill Monroe and band (1945 recording). It has been a bluegrass standard for years. Christopher C. King, in his notes to "Old-Time Music in West Virginia, Vol 2" (County CD 3519), reports that the first recording of "Footprints in the Snow" was under the title "Little Foot Prints," by the West Virginia Ramblers in June, 1931 (the Ramblers were guitarist Roy Harvey, fiddler Jess Johnson, fiddler Bernice Coleman, and banjo player and singer Ernest Branch). Cliff Carlisle covered the song in 1939, and finally Bill Monroe recorded it with the altered title "Footprints in the Snow." The tune is similar, especially in the beginning, to "Little Stream of Whiskey." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
LYRICS TO 1866 VERSION:
I looked out through the window, the snow had ceased to fall,
And thought me of a promise, on a friend to make a call;
When stepping through the doorway, undecided still to go,
I saw before me on the pave, two footprints on the snow.
I gazed with admiration on the trim and tiny marks,
And felt within my bosom kindling love's bewitching sparks;
Then quickly followed down the street, determined I would know,
About the darling one, who'd left her footprints on the snow.
CHORUS: I think of her with fond delight no matter where I go,
The darling pretty one, who left her footprints on the snow.
I paused before a cottage, for there they vanished quite,
But, peeping through the lattice, two bright eyes were just in sight,
And a roguish face was smiling, while my own was all aglow,
For I saw the pretty one, who left her footprints on the snow.
I did not dare to enter, but I bowed and threw a kiss.
She answered with her kerchief, and my heart was filled with bliss;
Next day the carrier brought me a charming billet-doux,
But I'll not tell her name, who left her footprints on the snow.
|