On Top of Old Smokey
First recording and first release by George Reneau (October 15, 1925 / 1926)
- Written by
- [Traditional]
- Language
- English
- Comments
-
Traditional folk song found in the Appalachians and other parts of the southern United States. "On top of old Smokey, all covered with snow, I lost my true lover, from courting too slow.."
The most familiar tune for this song was the same used for "Little Mohee," collected by the American fieldworkers Loraine Wyman and Howard Brockway in Pine Mountain, Kentucky on May 8, 1916 from a singer named Mary Ann Bagley, and published by them in 1916, in their collection Lonesome tunes, song ballets and love songs of the Kentucky Mountains.
Only 2 months later, July 29, 1916, the same tune, as sung by Miss Memory Shelton at Alleghany, N.C., this time coupled with the lyrics of "On Top of Old Smokey" was collected by Cecil Sharp in his collection English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. - Licensing
- Request a synchronization license