Summertime (Gershwin song)
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This article is about the George Gershwin song. You may be looking for the Fat Boy demo of the same name. |
"Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by the late American composer/songwriter George Gershwin for his 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.
The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, and is considered one of Gershwin's finest songs; The Residents officially covered the song in 1984 for their album George & James (dedicated to the works of Gershwin and James Brown).
This is not to be confused with the track "Summertime" off the group's 1993 Fat Boy tape.
History
Gershwin began composing "Summertime", based on a poem by DuBose Heyward, on December 1933, attempting to create his own version of an African-American spiritual. By February 1934, he had completed setting the poem to music, and proceeded to compose the rest of the Porgy & Bess opera in a span of 20 months.
Throughout The Residents' youth, several cover versions of the song had mainstream chart success, most notably versions by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald (with Louis Armstrong), and Billy Stewart. The song was one of the American standards jammed on by the group who would later become The Residents; two instrumental versions feature on their unreleased 1970 demo reel known as The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger.
The Residents would eventually record "Summertime" in an official capacity for their 1984 album, George & James, the first instalment in their American Composer Series. The group have yet to acknowledge the existence of any earlier recordings.
The song is also quoted on The Residents' 1999 track "Fire '99 / Santa Dog 2nd Millennium" on their album Refused.
Lyrics
Original version (1935)
Summertime, and the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin' So hush, little baby, don't you cry.
One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky But till that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you With daddy and mammy standin' by.
Summertime, and the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin' So hush, little baby, don't you cry.
List of releases
- The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (1970, unreleased) [version 1] [version 2]
- George & James (1984) [version 3]
- American Composer's Series 1982–1987 (2025) [version 3]
List of versions
- ↑ San Mateo home recording #1, 1970
- ↑ San Mateo home recording #2, 1970
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clementina Street studio recording, Oct 1983–Feb 1984 (4:08)
External links and references
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The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (1970) Side A |
