Johnny Cash: When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below) [purchase]
Johnny Horton: When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below) [purchase]
Cash's posthumously-released version of the Johnny Horton hit is extremely cool. Horton's version ain't half bad either.
Famous last words: "I didn't know Lil was Big Ed's wife-to-be."
Elvis Costello: Good Year For The Roses
[purchase]
This has to be one of the saddest country songs ever written. The poor guy's life is falling apart around him and things that he used to think were important, like gardening or mowing the lawn, now seem menacingly inconsequential.
You can find the George Jones version here.
The Carter Family: Wildwood Flower [purchase]
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Wildwood Flower [purchase]
Joan Baez: Wildwood Flower [purchase]
Duane Eddy: Wildwood Flower [purchase]
Wildwood Flower is one of the classic American songs. Originally entitled "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets," it was written by Maud Irving Joseph Philbrick Webster in 1860. The song has a very simple melody that will get stuck in your head.
The most popular recorded version is by The Carter Family. The version by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band from the essential album Will The Circle Be Unbroken features Mother Maybelle Carter on vocals.
I like Joan Baez's traditionally folky interpretation from her first album--recorded in 1960 while she was still a teenager. Duane Eddy's twangy guitar rendition is also pretty cool.
The Statler Brothers: Flowers On The Wall
[purchase]
I've always loved this one. Ever since I saw Pulp Fiction, which has a great soundtrack by the way.
Just thinking about that poor guy playing solitaire with a deck of 51 is sad. It's not really a springtime song, but it tecnically fits the theme.
Lefty Frizzell: Shine, Shave, Shower (It’s Saturday)
[purchase]
You know you’re listening to a genuine, old-fashioned country song when the singer has to specifically point out that he is going to shower and brush his teeth before going out.
Kris Kristofferson: Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
[purchase]
This is Paul from Setting The Woods On Fire. Good luck with the new format.
Here's one of my favorite day-of-the-week songs. Most people are familiar with the Johnny Cash version, but this song was originally composed and recorded by the great songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who also wrote Me and Bobbie McGee.
