“Steppin’ Stones,” sometimes written “Stepping Stones,” is a bluegrass song written by Paul Williams and Jimmy Martin. Williams sang and played mandolin in Martin’s band, the Sunny Mountain Boys, and the two collaborated on a number of songs during that stretch. Martin recorded it in 1961, and it appeared on his album “Country Music Time.”
The song is a heartbreak ballad that turns the title into a metaphor: the memories of a lost love become stepping stones, and each one the singer crosses leads only deeper into sorrow. The image gives a familiar subject a fresh and slightly unsettling shape.
“Steppin’ Stones” became one of Martin’s better-known recordings of the 1960s and a staple of his live shows.
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