# Walking in the Air
**Walking in the Air** is a song by the British composer Howard Blake, with both music and lyrics by Blake, for the 1982 animated film *The Snowman*, and it is the only sung piece in an otherwise wordless film.[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) In the film it accompanies the sequence in which the snowman flies with the boy to the [North Pole](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-pole), and it has since become a Christmas standard recorded by many artists.[2](https://www.jwpepper.com/walking-in-the-air-11205257-603737/p)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writer | Music and lyrics by Howard Blake, who also composed and conducted the film's complete orchestral score[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) |
| First performance | Sung in the 1982 film by Peter Auty, a choirboy at St Paul's Cathedral, with the Sinfonia of London; the recording runs 3:30[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) • [3](https://musicbrainz.org/work/513f77fb-904c-3f2b-b17b-a91c3e7ea57c) |
| Film premiere | Channel 4, Christmas Eve 1982; the film was nominated for an Academy Award and won the British Academy's Best Children's Film Award in 1983[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) |
| Aled Jones single | Recorded in 1985 for a Toys "R" Us television campaign; chart peak is given as number 3 on Blake's own site and as number 5 in press accounts[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) • [4](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/snowman-song-howard-blake-raymond-briggs-b2467227.html) |
| Musical profile | D minor, 4/4 meter, tempo 92 BPM, melody spanning D4 to D5[5](https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/howard-blake/walking-in-the-air) |
| Concert version | Orchestral setting for boy soprano and orchestra, duration 4 minutes, published by Chester Music[6](https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/43457/Walking-in-the-Air--Howard-Blake/) |
| Notable covers | Nightwish (1998), Rainbow (1983), Elaine Paige (1986), Cliff Richard (2003), Celtic Woman (2008), Aurora (2019)[3](https://musicbrainz.org/work/513f77fb-904c-3f2b-b17b-a91c3e7ea57c) • [7](https://www.originals.be/en/originals/12865) |
## Origin of the melody
Blake has described writing the tune during a personal crisis. He said he had been "too busy and I had a sort of collapse", went away and lived for about two months on a beach in Cornwall, and was walking on the beach when the tune came into his head; he wrote it down on the back of an envelope.[8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/walking-in-the-air-the-snowman-howard-blake-b1982236.html) He said at the time he wanted to write a symphony about perfect innocence, "the innocence with which we're born and which we lose".[8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/walking-in-the-air-the-snowman-howard-blake-b1982236.html)
The tune did not go straight into a film. According to a profile in *Classical Music* magazine, it sat unused for eleven years until Blake was by chance shown a demo of *The Snowman* and realized the melody fit the visuals; he agreed to compose the score on condition that the film contain no dialogue.[9](https://www.classical-music.com/features/tv-and-film-music/the-snowman-music) Blake himself dates the connection to 1981, when he happened to visit an animation studio in Charlotte Street and the producer showed him a sketch for the film.[10](https://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2008/Jul-Dec08/blake_part3.htm) The melody also had an earlier source: Blake based it on a theme from *Lullaby – A Christmas Narrative*, an a cappella choir piece he had written in 1975 for the vocal group The Scholars.[7](https://www.originals.be/en/originals/12865)
## The Snowman and the film version
*The Snowman* began as a wordless children's picture book by [Raymond Briggs](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-briggs), published by Hamish Hamilton in 1978. In 1982 the animation company TVC developed it with [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) into a 26-minute cartoon, produced by John Coates and directed by Dianne Jackson. The film is wordless except for "Walking in the Air", sung by Peter Auty, then a choirboy at [St Paul's Cathedral](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-pauls-cathedral), with Blake conducting the Sinfonia of London.[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) Blake wrote a new lyric called "Walking in the Air" and recorded it together with the entire score, which was built around the song.[11](https://www.howardblake.com/works/the-happy-prince/)
The film was first shown on Channel 4 on [Christmas Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-eve) 1982 and was an immediate success, nominated for an Academy Award and winning prizes in France and Italy as well as the British Academy's Best Children's Film Award in 1983.[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) In 1983 Blake produced a record album of the score for CBS Masterworks with [Bernard Cribbins](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernard-cribbins) as narrator.[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/)
## The Aled Jones single and the common confusion
In 1985 the toy firm Toys "R" Us asked permission to record the song for a British television advertising campaign. By then Auty's voice had broken, and Blake, having seen the boy singer [Aled Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/aled-jones) on a BBC documentary, proposed that a single be recorded in the same session. The record was released on EMI, appeared on *Top of the Pops*, and helped raise the profile of *The Snowman* in all its versions.[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) Jones later said he was "never meant to" record the full song and had been down to sing only 10 or 12 bars for the advert.[12](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1018/824925-aled-jones/)
The single's chart peak is reported differently across sources: Blake's own account gives number 3 in the UK charts,[1](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/) while *The Independent* and *Classical Music* both give a peak of number 5 at Christmas 1985.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/snowman-song-howard-blake-raymond-briggs-b2467227.html) • [9](https://www.classical-music.com/features/tv-and-film-music/the-snowman-music)
A widespread belief holds that Jones sang the song in the 1982 film; he did not. The film version is Auty's, and the confusion is persistent enough that it is regularly corrected in press features.[9](https://www.classical-music.com/features/tv-and-film-music/the-snowman-music) Auty was uncredited in the original film and, according to *The Independent*, was paid £300 and only formally recognized as the singer of the song in 2002; he later became a professional operatic tenor.[4](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/snowman-song-howard-blake-raymond-briggs-b2467227.html)
## Covers and later life of the song
The song has been recorded in many styles. Documented covers include Rainbow (1983), Aled Jones (1985), [Elaine Paige](https://www.edgepedia.org/elaine-paige) (1986), [The Shadows](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-shadows) (1987), [Kenny Loggins](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenny-loggins) (1998), Cliff Richard (2003), Celtic Woman (2008), Kurt Nilsen (2010), and André Rieu (2013).[7](https://www.originals.be/en/originals/12865) The Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish recorded a version for its 1998 album *Oceanborn*, and a live recording from 1999 is also cataloged.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/work/513f77fb-904c-3f2b-b17b-a91c3e7ea57c) The Norwegian singer Aurora released it as a single on 28 November 2019.[13](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/1673935)
The song also lives in concert and educational settings. Blake's orchestral setting, for boy soprano with an alternative choral version, is published by Chester Music and hired for pops concerts.[6](https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/43457/Walking-in-the-Air--Howard-Blake/) Choral arrangements by John Leavitt for SATB, SAB, and two-part choirs are widely performed, and Blake himself arranged the song for piano and for choir.[2](https://www.jwpepper.com/walking-in-the-air-11205257-603737/p) • [14](https://www.prestomusic.com/sheet-music/products/7336148--howard-blake-walking-in-the-air) The song's place in the film's story is fixed: it sets the flight of the boy and the snowman to the North Pole.[2](https://www.jwpepper.com/walking-in-the-air-11205257-603737/p)
## References
1. [The Snowman – Howard Blake (official site)](https://www.howardblake.com/collection/the-snowman/)
2. [Walking in the Air choral sheet music, J.W. Pepper](https://www.jwpepper.com/walking-in-the-air-11205257-603737/p)
3. [Song "Walking in the Air" – MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/work/513f77fb-904c-3f2b-b17b-a91c3e7ea57c)
4. [The Snowman: how Howard Blake persuaded Raymond Briggs to love his soaring Christmas soundtrack, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/snowman-song-howard-blake-raymond-briggs-b2467227.html)
5. [Walking In The Air chords and melody, Hooktheory](https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/howard-blake/walking-in-the-air)
6. [Walking in the Air – Howard Blake, Wise Music Classical](https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/43457/Walking-in-the-Air--Howard-Blake/)
7. [The Originals © by Arnold Rypens – WALKING IN THE AIR](https://www.originals.be/en/originals/12865)
8. ['Walking in the Air' was written when composer was on brink of 'collapse', The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/walking-in-the-air-the-snowman-howard-blake-b1982236.html)
9. [The Snowman: A guide to the music of this festive classic, Classical Music](https://www.classical-music.com/features/tv-and-film-music/the-snowman-music)
10. [Howard Blake talks to Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International](https://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2008/Jul-Dec08/blake_part3.htm)
11. [The Happy Prince – Howard Blake (official site)](https://www.howardblake.com/works/the-happy-prince/)
12. [Aled Jones almost didn't record Walking In the Air, RTÉ Entertainment](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1018/824925-aled-jones/)
13. [Walking in the Air by Aurora, SecondHandSongs](https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/1673935)
14. [Howard Blake: Walking In The Air vocal score, Presto Music](https://www.prestomusic.com/sheet-music/products/7336148--howard-blake-walking-in-the-air)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Musical-theater, film, television, and game songs › Film songs and themes › Animated and family film songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license