Footprints In The Snow (revealed)

[mandotool]

The subject of "Footprints In The Snow" came up at the Daves/Thile show the other night.. funny how the Monroe version leaves the story open to a darker interpretation..i suspect this was no accident..
Here's some scholarly work on the subject by Richard F. Thompson that helps set the record straight..
http://bluegrasstoday.com/19267/i%E2...d-kentucky-68/

This was published 12/10 but i thought it good timing to share it with the group here especially since a lot of folks , Mr.Thile included, seem inclined toward the dark side..

[Markus]

It's a much happier tune, having read that version.

I like the vagueness of the Monroe version, though it's tempting to bother the traditionalists with a verse or two from the `original'.

[M.Marmot]

Thank you for posting that, i do enjoy a good song history, and for one of my favorite Monroe songs too.

I'll admit i never really found the ambiguity in the song, for me it always read as someone reminiscing on a loved one, who has passed on, and also thinking on the happy day they met... there was snow upon the ground, apparently.

I do get that murder ballads are a mountain music staple but it always seemed to me that they never shied from the details, in a way they tend to be more tabloid-headline-obvious than darkly ambiguous like Footprints here.

In a related question, did Mr. Monroe make a habit of recording murder ballads?

[Jim]

Kind of like "The boy who wouldn't hoe corn" there's a bit missing from this story. The missing verses do make it a happier song but I'd be tempted to make one up that turned it into a murder song instead.

[surfnut]

I have never seen Footprints as a "dark" song. I've always seem Bill's last verse as a old man reminiscing of the wife he has lost. The snowfall brings back the memory of how he found,when lost, by following the footsteps. He's blessing the day he found her , isn't he a stand-up guy?

[Justus True Waldron]

Hmm... That's interesting to see that article. I too heard Thile say that the other day, and was thinking about the lyrics... but I figured there had to be more to the story

[mandopete]

We don't often get snow here in the Puget Sound area. Usually it's the cause of widespread panic in our area.

[Kip Carter]

Dont get much here in Alabama either and moving from Michigan 12 years ago with my antique lawn tractor in tow I think I may have the only working snow blower in the state!
Kip...

[mandotool]

while looking for a copy of the sheet music i found this..
which also dates back to 1870's England.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Footprints-S...item1e6a09ccbb
some notes from the listing;
"Footprints in The Snow, a Novel by Dora Russell. Illustrated Hardback, Published R.E. King & Co. Ltd., London. This book is undated and is very rare – in fact I could not find any others, other than it may be from 1877. There is no indication of year or edition. Dora Russell also wrote The Miner’s Oath, The Vicar’s Governess and Annabel’s Rival. The central character of this book is Elizabeth Gordon. The tale begins on a December morning in 1871. There are at least two illustrations throughout the book and one opposite the title page. There are 47 chapters with titles such as:
A betrothal – Flight – A thief in the house – A lover’s question – The gate of death – Wedding dresses – A bridal party – etc."

[Denny Gies]

What a fun story, another example of why this website is the best on the internet.

[RustyMadd]

Bill apparently got it messed up and "fixed" it as best he could. But in the process lost the original meaning. To listen carefully to the words of Bills version and not be disturbed by the fact that she's dead is amazingly polyannish. Good for you if you can twist it to a happy song like the original was, but Bills version is corrupt. He allegedly learned it in Chicago in the early 30s, and like Chris Thile occasionally does, he got the words and/or story messed up- Like Chris does with "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" and "Three Men on a Mountain". It happens. But for Bill to claim authorship outright without qualification is simply a lie. One begins to wonder how much else is not completely true.

[Don Grieser]

So if the singer could find her by following her tracks, why couldn't she find her way back by following her own footprints? Another question this song brings to my mind.

[mandotool]

So if the singer could find her by following her tracks, why couldn't she find her way back by following her own footprints? Another question this song brings to my mind.

her mother said she just stepped out and would be returning soon...fer cryin out loud..
nobody said she was lost

[Don Grieser]

"I bless that happy day that Nellie lost her way..."

[mandotool]

Bill apparently got it messed up and "fixed" it as best he could. But in the process lost the original meaning. To listen carefully to the words of Bills version and not be disturbed by the fact that she's dead is amazingly polyannish. Good for you if you can twist it to a happy song like the original was, but Bills version is corrupt. He allegedly learned it in Chicago in the early 30s, and like Chris Thile occasionally does, he got the words and/or story messed up- Like Chris does with "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" and "Three Men on a Mountain". It happens. But for Bill to claim authorship outright without qualification is simply a lie. One begins to wonder how much else is not completely true.

"messed up"? ..."polyannish"? ...."corrupt"?.."A lie"?... "One begins to wonder how much else is not completely true"?.
Looks like Bill is revealed as having invented fake news...
Good thing we resurrected a six year old thread to expose this outrage..

Listen...the guy is looking for his sweetheart and finds her footprints in the snow....im gonna go out on a limb here and say that he found her ...and this is where it probably gets a little steamy....he then held her in his loving embrace and gave her a big smooch
with the snow falling gently around them...

yeah..call me polyannish..

[Stevo75]

Yeah this song has always confused me. His girl wanders out into the snow, doesn't come back, he follows her footprints and finds her dead. But why "I bless that happy day that Nellie lost her way..."? I guess he's focusing on the positive, at least he was able to find the body to confirm?

OK, I just listened to the lyrics again. I guess it's not clear that she was dead when he found her. He found her by tracing her footprints, but it could have been some time later that she died. And now he's reminiscing about her.

[Alex Orr]

Years ago I read a story about by a guy who actually called Monroe about this. He and some friends were arguing about whether the woman dies out in the snow, and if she does, why it's such a blessed and happy day. As the story goes he had Monroe's home number and called him. A woman answered and the guy asked if Mr. Monroe was there and if he was, would answer a question about "Footprints In The Snow." The woman who answered shouted to Big Mon what the phone call was about and if he would answer their questions and Monroe shouted back, "yes, what do they want to know." The guy asked if the woman was found out in the snow, and the woman asked Monroe, and Monroe shouted back, "Yes." He asked if the woman died and the woman on the phone asked Monroe and Mr. Monroe shouted back "Yes, she dies." Then they asked why, if she died, it was such a happy day and the woman on the phone asked Monroe. Supposedly there was a long pause and then the guy on the phone heard Monroe yell back in quite an agitated tone, "Who knows what any of those old songs mean anyway. Who's on the phone calling and asking such stupid questions."

Don't know if it's true and I probably butchered the story, but it sounds like a pretty Monroe-esque response.

[Mando Mort]

Very interesting comments all the way around, but the best part about this tune to me is the pickin' and the melody.