Winter in America is a 1976 song by

Doug Ashdown Douglas "Doug" Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit with "Winter in America (song), Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles ...

, written by him and

Jimmy Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

. It was released as a single and on his album ''Winter in America'' (

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

/ Infinity 1976). The song was a Top 20 hit song in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Lyrics

The lyrics are set in the United States during December and describe a man whose partner has left him for someone else. He expresses his heartache and sadness, though also hopes she's happier with the other man.

Background

It was originally titled "Leave Love Enough Alone" and released in 1974, but failed to become a hit. When retitled "Winter in America" in 1976, it became a hit in

, reaching #14 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and #30 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In 1978, it also became a hit in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. "Winter in America" has been covered by

Marco Bakker Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...

(1984),

Gerard Cox Gerardus Antonius "Gerard" Cox (born 6 March 1940, Rotterdam) is a Dutch singer, cabaret artist, actor, and director. For fifteen years, he played the lead character of the Dutch sitcom ''Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon''. Life In 2018, Cox had a le ...

(1987) and

René Froger René Froger (born 5 November 1960 in Amsterdam), is a Dutch singer. Froger was born, and spent his first years in the Jordaan, a neighbourhood in Amsterdam. His father, Bolle Jan, had a café where Froger started performing. He started his ...

(1988), and in Dutch by The Kik (2014), titled "December". Ashdown's original was also covered in 1994 by the Australian band

The Robertson Brothers The Robertson Brothers is an Australian band of brothers who are best known for singing the ''Home and Away'' theme song, broadcast from 2000 to 2006. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994, their debut single "I Know Why" was nominated for ARIA Awar ...

Sources

{{Authority control Australian folk songs Australian pop songs Songs about heartache 1974 songs 1974 singles 1976 singles