One of my favorite Carter Family songs* is A.P. Carter’s “School House on the Hill”, the third verse of which ends in the evocative phrase “rich October skies”:
Fond memory paints its scenes of other years
Bring me their memory still
And bright amid those joyous scenes of years
The schoolhouse on the hillOh, the schoolhouse that stands upon the hill
I never, never can forget
Dear happy days are gathered ’round me still
I never, no never can forgetThere hangs the swing upon the maple tree
Where you and I once swung
There flows the spring, forever flowing free
As when we both were youngOh, the schoolhouse that stands upon the hill
I never, never can forget
Dear happy days are gathered ’round me still
I never, no never can forgetThere climbs the vines and there the berries grow
Which once would rise so high
And there the ripe nuts glistened in the grove
Of rich October skiesOh, the schoolhouse that stands upon the hill
I never, never can forget
Dear happy days are gathered ’round me still
I never, no never can forget
The song was first recorded by Victor on June 17, 1933, in Camden, New Jersey. The performers were the original Carter Family: A.P., Sara, and Maybelle Carter. Here they are (Maybelle is on the left in the photo):
Listen to them here.
And here is recording made by Jim Watson, Mike Craver, and Tommy Thompson of the original Red Clay Ramblers. The excerpt is from a 1980 album, Meeting in the Air, in which Watson, Craver, and Thompson perform 14 original Carter Family pieces.
If “School House. . .” doesn’t bring a lump to your throat, you’re too young, too citified, or both.
* This website seems to offer a comprehensive collection of lyrics of Carter Family songs.