Johnny Horton – When It’s Springtime in Alaska (It’s Forty Below), is a 1959 single by Johnny Horton, written by Tillman Franks and released through Columbia Records. The single was Johnny Horton’s sixth release on the country chart and the first of three number ones on the country chart. The single spent twenty-three weeks on the chart. The song was a marginally successful crossover, reaching #85 on the Music Vendor Pop Top 100.
The song takes place in Fairbanks, Alaska in the springtime. The narrator/singer is a prospector making a trip to Fairbanks after two years in the wilderness; he decides to visit a saloon and hears “redheaded Lil” singing the title words. He and Lil spend the evening dancing, but the singer is unaware that Lil is “Big Ed’s wife-to-be.” Big Ed discovers the two dancing and throws his knife at the singer, who predicts that he will not survive his wound: “When it’s springtime in Alaska, I’ll be six feet below.”
Johnny Horton – When It’s Springtime in Alaska (It’s Forty Below)
B-side “Sink The Bismarck”
Released 1959
Genre Ballad, Country
Label Columbia Records
Songwriter(s) Tillman Franks
COUNTRYPEDIA
Johnny Horton – When It’s Springtime in Alaska (It’s Forty Below) Lyrics
I mushed from Port Barren through a blizzard of snow
Been out prospecting for two years or so
Pulled into Fairbanks the city was a boon
So I took a little stroll to the Red Dog Saloon
As I walked in the door the music was clear
The prettiest voice I had heard in two years
The song she was singin’ made a man’s blood run cold
When it’s springtime in Alaska it’s forty below
(When it’s springtime in Alaska it’s forty below)
It was red headed Lil who was singin’ so sweet
I reached down and took the snowpacks off my feet
I reached for the gal who was singin’ the tune
We did the Escimo hop all around the saloon
Where the cariboo crawl and the grizzly bear hug we did our dance on a Kodiac rug
The song she kept singing made a man’s blood run cold
When it’s springtime in Alaska it’s forty below
[ banjo ]
I was as innocent as I could be I didn’t know Lil was big Ed’s wife to be
He took out his knife and he gave it a throw
When it’s springtime in Alaska I’ll be six feet below
(When it’s springtime in Alaska he’ll be six feet below)
GENIUS
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