"We owe this to a good pioneer collector of North-Eastern song, the soap-boiler and lively Radical agitator Thomas Doubleday, who contributed it to Blackwood's magazine [under the pseudonym of Mr Shufflebotham] as long ago as 1821. He got the melody from a Newcastle street singer. In Northumbrian Minstrelsy (1882, repr. 1965) the tune is given as My Love Is Newly Listed." Learned from the repertoire of Anne Briggs.
lyrics
O, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing;
And the corn it ripens fastest when the frosts are setting in;
And when a woman tells me that my face she'll soon forget,
Before we part, I bet a crown, she's fain to follow't yet
.
The snow it melts the soonest when the wind begins to sing;
And the swallow skims without a thought as long as it is spring;
But when spring goes, and winter blows, my lass, an ye'll be fain,
For all your pride, to follow me, were't cross the stormy main.
O, the snow it melts the soonest when the wind begins to sing;
The bee that flew when summer shined, in winter cannot sting;
I've seen a man's anger melt between the night and morn,
And it's surely not a harder thing to tame a man's scorn.
O, never say me farewell here -no farewell I'll receive,
for i will with you my love , till you kiss and take your leave;
But I'll stay here till the moorcock comes, and the marttin takes his wing,
Since the snow aye melts the soonest, lass, when the wind begins to sing.
I am based in Glasgow and explore traditional Scots song. Inspired largely by Scots singers including the repertoire of
Lizzie Higgins (1929-1993), I bring together a range of sources and sparse accompaniment.
supported by 9 fans who also own “The Snows they melt the soonest”
One of my favourite albums of 2022. The rich mixture of traditional musics with field recordings and experimentation fit hand in glove. With its long form passages, there is a beautiful surprise around every corner as the music wends its way along its watery course. Teedubyabee
Hushed folk-based songs build from feathery acoustic guitar figures and draped with layers of keys and pedal steel. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 14, 2023
Old-fashioned fiddles harmonize with rippling synths on the Scottish singer-songwriter's latest collection of original folk songs. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2022
supported by 6 fans who also own “The Snows they melt the soonest”
Congrats on folk album of the month and for created such a gorgeous album. A perfect salve for the times. Looking forward to the fall release fishercat603