Are you dealing with white weather this winter? If it’s a winter wonderland in your parts, here are some of the best songs with the word “snow” in the title, guaranteed to get you in the mood for hot chocolate and fuzzy slippers — or your snow shovel!
Relax and settle in as we run down the top songs about snow (Christmas carols not included!)
“Snow”- Randy Newman/Harry Nilsson (1970)
He may love L.A. and short people, but singer-songwriter Randy Newman also has a penchant for snow. While this isn’t one of his most well known compositions, the lyrics (“Oh, dreams lie buried in the snow”) are unforgettable. Singer Harry Nilsson paid tribute to “Snow” on his “Nilsson Sings Newman” album and in 2003 British indie band Saint Etienne included a cover of the song on a 3-track CD given out free to fan club members.
“Snow (Hey Oh)”- Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)
There’s nothing like a fresh blanket of snow to put things in perspective. Of this song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Stadium Arcadium” double album, lead singer Anthony Kiedis explained the song’s meaning is “about surviving, starting fresh. I’ve made a mess of everything, but I have a blank slate — a canvas of snow.”
“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow”- Frank Zappa (1974)
From the man who gave us “Help I’m a Rock” and “Cosmik Debris” (not to mention Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa), we have the story of an Eskimo named Nanook who gets some advice from his mama about not eating yellow snow. Something about watching where the huskies go…
“Six Feet of Snow”- Little Feat (1979)
The band’s last album with founding father Lowell George featured “Six feet of Snow,” a song that was born during George’s sessions as producer on the Grateful Dead’s 1878 album, “Shakedown Street.” (He co-wrote the song with Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux.) With lyrics like “Six feet of snow coming through my radio, it`s raining in stilettos from here clear down to Mexico” the song is a real trip.
“Snowman”- XTC (1982)
English new wave band XTC took on the snow theme in 1982 with this ditty about being treated like a snowman. Sample lyric: “It isn’t even winter and I’m freezing, freezing/ This sort of feeling isn’t pleasing/And what I want to know, man/Why, oh why, Does she treat me like a snowman?” Sounds like lead singer Andy Partridge’s girl was an ice princess.
“Snowbound”- Genesis (1978)
Three years before he felt it coming in the air tonight, Phil Collins’ band, Genesis, recorded this haunting tune (“Lay your body down upon the midnight snow/Feel the cold of winter in your hair.”) Sandwiched amid hits like “Follow You Follow Me” on the newly trimmed-down band’s “And Then There Were Three” album, this cool song never really got the recognition it deserved.
“Snow Days”- Trip Shakespeare (1990)
Minneapolis-based rock band Trip Shakespeare didn’t survive the early 1990’s grunge movement, but loyal fans still remember this classic about the joys of a snow day. A 1990 Entertainment Weekly review of the song labeled it “a celebration of snow.” Take a snow day, Mrs. Braintree!
“50 Words for Snow”- Kate Bush (2011)
English singer Kate Bush likes snow so much she based an entire album on it. The 2011 release “50 Words For Snow” is described as a collection of tracks that are “set against a background of falling snow.” In addition to the title tune (presumed to be based on the myth that Eskimos have 50 words for snow), Bush sings about being “Snowed in at Wheeler Street.” There’s even a song called “Snowflake.”
“Snowman”- Barenaked Ladies (2004)
While this song can be found on the Canadian alternative rockers’ “Barenaked for the Holidays” album, it’s more about snow than about Christmas. In this song, Frosty finds that he just doesn’t fit in. But what else do you expect from the band that gave us “Elf’s Lament?”
“Snowbird”- Anne Murray (1970)
It was the song that launched the career of singer Anne Murray back in 1970. “Snowbird” nabbed Murray a gold record and mainstream success — and it serves as a reminder that with all this talk about snow, spring is just around the corner.
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