Rain and Snow

AI Tune Research: Traditional American folk ballad (Roud 3634) also known as “Cold Rain and Snow” and sometimes as a murder ballad. The song first appeared in print in Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil Sharp’s 1917 compilation “English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians,” collected from Mrs. Tom Rice in Big Laurel, North Carolina in 1916. Originally containing only a single verse about a troublesome wife who made her husband work in harsh weather, the song evolved through oral tradition. The Grateful Dead popularized it widely after learning it from Obray Ramsey’s 1961 Prestige International album. In 1965, Dillard Chandler recorded a graphic murder ballad version where the husband shoots his wife. The song reflects local tradition from Big Laurel, Madison County, relating to an actual murder committed between the Civil War and end of the 19th century. Despite violent lyrics, women feature prominently in its oral tradition. Bluegrass artists including Bill Monroe and Del McCoury performed the song in the 1960s, and it remains a standard with its characteristic “rain and snow” refrain symbolizing hardship and marital discord. NOTE: This content was automatically researched by AI. Please verify details for accuracy.