Origins: Suzy Snowflake (from Rosemary Clooney)

Subject: ADD: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 12:18 PM

Well, I looked out the window this morning, and there were snowflakes falling among the camellias and daffodils. We had 70-degree temperatures last week, and now we have snow in the air. The weather forecast says it may stick on the ground for a while.

So, anyhow, the first thing that come to mind was "here Comes Susie Snowflake," a song I didn't remember I remembered. When I learned it, I thought Grandma made it up. Naturally, being a "song geek" (as Rick Fielding used to call me), I wondered this morning who wrote the song, and what were the proper lyrics. The Harry Fox Agency (songfile.com) says "Suzy Snowflake" was written by Sid Tepper and Roy Brodsky (related to Chuck??), and recorded by Rosemary Clooney. I also found that the song was written in 1951. But do I have the lyrics correct? It isn't on the one Clooney Christmas CD that I have.

Here's what I remember:

Here comes Susie Snowflake,
Dressed in her snow-white gown;
Tap-tap-tapping on your window pane
To tell you she's in town.

And that's all I can remember.

I found lyrics at http://www.dcrafts.com/weathersongs.htm - but they don't sound familiar to me. Here's the entire text from the site:

Here Comes Suzy Snowflake

Here comes Suzy Snowflake,
Dressed in her snow-white gown.
Tap-tap-tapping at your windowpane
To tell you she's in town.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake,
Look at her tumbling down.
Bringing joy to every girl and boy,
Suzy's come to town!

If you want to make a snowman,
I can help you make one- 1-2-3!
If you want to take a sleigh ride--
The ride's on me!

Here comes Suzy Snowflake,
Look at her tumbling down.
Bringing joy to every girl and boy,
Suzy's come to town!


Oh, Tepper and Brodsky also wrote "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" in 1948.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: GUEST,Cool Beans (sans cookie)
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 07:23 PM

Joe,
   Those lyrics are the way I remember "Susie Snowflake." There's a box set of Rosemary Clooney CDs; one of them contains her children's songs. Our friend Masato Sakurai told us so on a previous post about Clooney's children's songs.
   The CD set is on Amazon.com but my home computer is so unreliable that I dare not look to verify if Susie's on there.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: SINSULL
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 07:34 PM

Joe,
When I was very young, my aunt got a TV and I was allowed to watch. There were only a few programs on each day and as they signed off there would be a partially animated cartoon with Burl Ives singing a folk song - Barbara Allan, Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor and Suzy Snowflake.
I had given up asking people if they remembered old Suzy.
Thanks!
Mary

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: masato sakurai
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 07:36 PM

"Susy Snowflake" is on Rosemary Clooney's Christmas Classics album. Listen to a sound sample here.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Feb 06 - 09:26 PM

While we're at it, who the hell was Suzy Creamcheese???

~S~

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: Peace
Date: 18 Feb 06 - 01:55 AM

From Wikipedia

Suzy Creamcheese was a fictionally credited vocalist and character on and in a number of albums by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. On the album Freak Out! (which features a "letter" from Suzy Creamcheese on the back cover), Suzy Creamcheese was played by Jeannie Vassoir; on Absolutely Free and Mothermania it was Lisa Cohen; and on We're Only in It for the Money, and Uncle Meat it was Pamela Zarubica.

As an indication of the surreal nature of the running Suzy Creamcheese gag in Frank Zappa's work the following from Freak Out! may give a little clue:

Male voice: Suzy?
Female voice: Yes?
Male voice: Suzy Creamcheese?
Female voice: Yes?
Male voice: This is the voice of your conscience, baby... ah, I just want to check one thing out...hope you don't mind.
Female voice: What?
Male voice: Suzy Creamcheese, honey, what's got into you?
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzy_Creamcheese"

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Feb 06 - 01:31 PM

I was a little disappointed yesterday morning, because the morning's snowfall didn't stick on the ground. It was snowing again as I drove home from Sacramento last night, but again it wasn't sticking. The snowflakes were big by the time I reached the bottom of my driveway, but it still wasn't sticking. At the TOP of the drive, the house and the trees were all covered with snow. And when I woke up this morning, there was snow everywhere, that sticky kind that covers the trees so beautifully.

This may well be the only snow we gat all year - and it sure is beautiful. My stepson made a snowman, and the dogs had a great time playing in the snow. Maybe I should go out and make snow angels.

It's nice to have you around, Susy Snowflake!!

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susie Snowflake
From: GUEST,KT
Date: 18 Feb 06 - 01:54 PM

Joe, the verse I remember which was omitted up above is

Here comes SUzie Snowflake
Soon you will hear her say,
"Come out, everyone and play with me.
I haven't long to stay."

I can just picture you sitting, gazing out the window and singing this song, Joe.

KT

Subject: Lyr Add: SUZY SNOWFLAKE (Sid Tepper, Roy Brodsky)
From: SharonA
Date: 18 Feb 06 - 03:09 PM

KT is correct about the ommitted verse. Let's put them in the proper order:

SUZY SNOWFLAKE
(Sid Tepper and Roy Brodsky, 1951)

Here comes Suzy Snowflake,
Dressed in a snow-white gown,
Tap, tap, tappin' at your windowpane
To tell you she's in town.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake;
Soon you will hear her say,
"Come out, ev'ryone, and play with me;
I haven't long to stay.

If you want to make a snowman,
I'll help you make one, two, three.
If you wanna take a sleigh ride,
The ride's on me."

Here comes Suzy Snowflake;
Look at her tumblin' down,
Bringing joy to ev'ry girl and boy;
Suzy's come to town.

Note: In the bridge ("If you want to make a snowman..."), there is a sound effect after "take a sleigh ride" -- a high-pitched whistle -- and in some remakes of the song, the vocalist says "wheeeee!" in place of the whistle.

Here in Mudcat Country, we got 18 inches of snow last weekend (more at Mudcat Central itself), but temperatures rose during the week and most of it is going or gone. :^(

Sharon

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: GUEST,ossie
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 12:36 AM

you can see and hear the original cartoon on YouTube. I'd been looking for years. Made my day.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 04:17 PM

WOW - thanks for that. Now I need to find Barbara Allan and Jack Was Every Inch A Sailor.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: Becca72
Date: 20 Nov 07 - 04:40 PM

Talk about a flashback...when I was in 1st or 2nd grade we did Susy Snowflake in our Christmas play. My friend Susy played Susy (of course) and I and another girl played her "ladies in waiting" if you will, and carried the train of her dress. I didn't remember the words until they were posted here. I also didn't know Rosemary Clooney recorded this song. But I was around 6-7 years old and this would be in about 1978 or 1979.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: GUEST,DN
Date: 22 Nov 07 - 12:41 PM

On the "Garfield Goose" show on WGN in Chicago, Suze Snowflake was a great black and white cartoon feature. But the recording is not Rosemary Cloony. Does anyone know the name of the group (sounds like a quartet with a female lead vocalist) that sang it for the cartoon?
DN

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: Charley Noble
Date: 22 Nov 07 - 12:55 PM

Suzy/Susy was back here in Maine for a brief visit the other day. There were huge flakes floating slowly down but melting in the driveway.

Sinsull, are you serious about wanting access to a recording of "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor"? Oscar Brand recorded a version and I might be able to find it. If you just want the lyrics, that would be an easier request to process.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, who sailed upon the deep blue sea

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: GUEST,Bob
Date: 29 Nov 07 - 06:02 PM

The lead voice in the cartoon is Norma Zimmer the "Champagne Lady" on the Lawrence Welk Show.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: GUEST,Nancy in New England
Date: 24 Dec 08 - 09:19 AM

I got to sing this in our Christmas pagent in the mid 50's. I always loved the song and was sorry to see it go away but I never forgot it or the words. Glad to see I am not the only one who remembers it.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Dec 08 - 09:24 AM

Jack was every inch a sailor
Five and twenty years a whaler
Jack was every inch a sailor
He was born upon the bright blue sea.


If I think about I can come up with the verse about him turning a whale inside out.

A Massachusetts man took a blow torch to Suzie today and managed to set fire to his house. $30,000 in damge. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Dec 08 - 11:06 AM

Garfield Goose! Oh, my goodness, I'd completely forgotten Garfield Goose. Thanks, DN, for bringing back the memories.

I was six or seven when my family got its first TV. To a little girl, seeing the Suzy Snowflake cartoon, with its pretty singing, was a welcome respite from the old Westerns and cheap soap operas which filled the daytime hours.

Now I'm off to Youtube to look for Suzy.

Subject: RE: Origins: Here Comes Susy Snowflake
From: GUEST,crazy little woman
Date: 24 Dec 08 - 11:17 AM

Hello, Joe. I'm glad you enjoyed your snow. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Did is make a susurration as the new snow sifted over the snow already down? I love that sound.

We have a few inches here, and I've been watching four cardinals at my bird feeder.

Subject: RE: Origins: Suzy Snowflake (from Rosemary Clooney)
From: GUEST,crazy little woman
Date: 21 May 12 - 11:25 PM

oops

Did IT make a susurration as the new snow sifted over the snow already down?

Subject: RE: Origins: Suzy Snowflake (from Rosemary Clooney)
From: Cool Beans
Date: 22 May 12 - 03:53 PM

FOUR YEARS TO CORRECT A TYPO!!!??? Crazy little woman, you must be a copy editor! Only a copy editor would feel such guilt.

A spammer has been hitting this thread lately and brought it to the top yesterday where she spotted it. -- mudelf

Subject: RE: Origins: Suzy Snowflake (from Rosemary Clooney)
From: GUEST,crazy little woman
Date: 23 May 12 - 11:21 AM

Not so. It might have been typed long ago, but it's sitting there, looking stupid, today.

"Suzy Snowflake" works on mountain dulcimer. I just tried it.