"Don't eat the yellow snow"

Snow is white; “yellow snow” is snow that is urinated on. “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” was popularized as a song title on Frank Zappa’s album, Apostrophe ( ’ ) (1974), with the lyrics:

“Watch out where the huskies go, and don’t you eat that yellow snow.”

The jocular saying had been popular before 1974. “Bumper Sticker: ‘Don’t Eat Yellow Snow’” was printed in the Lincoln (NE) Star on July 27, 1970. “Don’t Eat (The/Any) Yellow Snow” patches used by skiers and snowmobilers were popular in 1971. “Don’t eat any yellow snow” might have been cited in print since at least 1968. (The Google Books dates can be incorrect.)

“Never make snow angels in a dog park” is a similar winter saying. “If you see a rabbit laying little brown eggs, don’t eat them. They’re not chocolate” is a related saying.

Wikipedia: Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow Suite
The “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow Suite” is made up of the first four tracks of Frank Zappa’s album Apostrophe ( ’ ), “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow”, “Nanook Rubs It”, “St.Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast”, and “Father O’Blivion.” Each song in the suite is loosely connected, although the songs are not all connected by one overall story/theme. The suite was only played in full from 1973 to 1974 and 1978 to 1980. “Saint Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” contains Zappa’s percussionist Ruth Underwood on marimba who added a very distinct sound to many of his songs in the early 70s.

Story
“Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” is a song about a man who dreams that he was an Eskimo named Nanook. His mother warns him “Watch out where the huskies go, and don’t you eat that yellow snow.”

Google Books
S.E.T.P. Technical Review
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Volume 9
1968
Pg. 249:
It’s what Eskimo parents tell their children, “Don’t eat any yellow snow.”

Google Books
The Reporter
Passaic County Bar Association
1968
Pg. ?:
One of the first things that Eskimo parent teach their Eskimo children is…DON’T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW.

27 July 1970, Lincoln (NE) Star, “On Target” by Don Walton, pg. 4, col. 8:
Bumper Sticker: “Don’t Eat Yellow Snow.”

Google Books
Julian Bond: Black Rebel
By John Neary
New York, NY: Morrow
1971
Pg. 242:
The audience, baffled, would be quiet, straining to catch this bit of wisdom, wide open for it when it came. “Don’t eat the yellow snow!”

23 January 1971, The Register-Star (Rockford, IL), pg. A3, col. 7 ad:
DON’T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW
INSURANCE LIQUIDATORS

7 February 1971, Sunday Post-Crescent (Appleton, WI), “Patches for Snowmobilers Profitable Hobby fo Pair,” pg. B2, col. 2:
One of the hottest selling patches is one with an Eskimo and the warning, “Don’t Eat Yellow Snow.”

Google Books
Hahti Trust Digital Library
Aequanimitas
Yearbook of the Medical and Nursing Schools
1972
Pg. 120:
“Don’t eat the yellow snow” ... Dr. Baublis

OCLC WorldCat record
Apostrophe ( ’ )
Author: Frank Zappa
Publisher: [S.l.] : The Zappa Family Trust, p&©1974.
Edition/Format: Music CD : CD audio : Rock music : English
Contents:
Don’t eat the yellow snow (2:07)

OCLC WorldCat record
Don’t eat the yellow snow
Author: Uwe Göbel
Publisher: [München] [Galerie Claudia Jaeckel-Göbel] [Frankfurt (Main)] [Kretschmer u. Grossmann] 1981, [1981]
Edition/Format: Book : German

Urban Dictionary
Yellow Snow
Snow that has been urinated in
Billy urinated in the snow and it turned yellow
by Anadonia October 15, 2003

OCLC WorldCat record
Don’t eat the yellow snow : pop music wisdom
Author: Marcus Kraft
Publisher: Amsterdam : BIS Publishers, 2012.
Edition/Format: Book : English : 1st ed

YouTube
Frank Zappa - Yellow Snow Suite - 10/13/1978 - Capitol Theatre (Official)
Frank Zappa on MV
Published on Sep 12, 2014
Frank Zappa - Yellow Snow Suite
Recorded Live: 10/13/1978 - Capitol Theatre - Passaic, NJ

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