"When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" is a 1959 single by Johnny Horton, written by Tillman Franks and released through Columbia Records.
The song was a marginally successful crossover, reaching #85 on the Music Vendor Pop Top 100.
The narrator/singer is a prospector making a trip to Fairbanks after two years in the wilderness; he decides to visit a saloon and hears "redheaded Lil" singing the title words.
Big Ed discovers the two dancing and throws his knife at the singer, who predicts that he will not survive his wound: "When it's springtime in Alaska, I'll be six feet below."
A low temperature of −40 °F (−40 °C) was recorded at the Fairbanks International Airport on March 30, 1970.