The story of this wonderful little song and its author, Joyce Ann (Rankin) Cumings, is told in this Edmonton Journal article. Joyce, also known as "Stevie" by her friends, was a summer time waitress at the famed Jasper Park Lodge when she penned these words for a musical show of sorts put on by the staff of JPL.
The song catches the beauty of the Jasper area with many local place names thrown in. It was so inspiring, in fact, that Bing Crosby ( known to frequent the Jasper Park Lodge) once sang it there!
As someone who spent many days reveling in the beauty of Jasper ( and who even worked at the Lodge for a time!), I wanted to share these lyrics with many young and old who I know will appreciate them. Thanks to some local Jasperites these words were found:
The Jasper Blues
Copyright 1949 Joyce Ann (Rankin) Cumings and Alan McKinlay
Jasper blues – I’ve got that longing for Jasper news;
Back in the city, I thought I’d forget.
I swore that I would never regret departing
But the summer’s come; the moon is high,
My heart is back under a Jasper sky.
Moon over Beauvert, full and bright,
The snow upon Cavell a-shining through the night.
I’ve got that lonely mood,
In this crowded city I’m in solitude.
Why did I sigh and recall once more
The songs we sang around the fire on Trefoil’s shore?
Oh, how I long to go
Out where those western mountains show.
I can’t recall why I said goodbye,
I’m homesick now for Pyramid against the sky.
I’ve got an ache that I’ll never lose,
Those gotta-get-back-to-Jasper blues!
Sing it for us!
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