"Summertime"
An aria
composed by George
Gershwin for the 1935 opera
Porgy
and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose
Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy
on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited
to Ira Gershwin
.The video here features Ken Eden singing the original Gershwin
arrangement,with a long meandering intro and exit. The images have a
languid quality in keeping with the melody line.
The song soon became a popular and
much recorded jazz
standard, described as "without doubt... one
of the finest songs the composer ever wrote....Gershwin's highly
evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song
styles of African-Americans in the southeast United States from the
early twentieth century." Composer and lyricist Stephen
Sondheim has characterised Heyward's lyrics for
"Summertime" and "My
Man's Gone Now" as "the
best lyrics in the musical theater".
The song has been claimed to be one the most covered
songs in the history of recorded music. (thanks to wikipedia)
Summertime,
And
the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky
But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by
Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky
But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by
Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
