Summertime lyrics by George Gershwin, 12 meanings. Summertime explained, official 2025 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com

George Gershwin – Summertime lyrics

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George Gershwin – Summertime lyrics
Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Oh, 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 until that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With your daddy and mammy 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
Explain Request
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Summertime, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high Oh, 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 until that morning There's a'nothing can harm you With your daddy and mammy 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 Explain Request ×



Lyrics taken from /lyrics/g/george_gershwin/summertime.html

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Songwriters: Dorothy Heyward, Du Bose Heyward, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Summertime lyrics © Abkco Music Inc., BMG Rights Management, Cloud9, CONSALAD CO., Ltd., CTM Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., O/B/O DistroKid, RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Raleigh Music Publishing LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Roba Music Verlag GMBH, Royalty Network, Sentric Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, The Administration MP, Inc., Too Lost LLC, TuneCore Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Wixen Music Publishing, Word Collections Pub
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Corrected by heart197

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Summertime meanings Post my meaning

  • U
    + 30
    Unregistered 2012-08-21 16:40:08
    Might I suggest to some (most?), posting comments here that you get the dvd of porgy & bess? Then you'll know what you're talking about. Or at least read the damn wikipedia page.
    No slaves, no privileged white babies, no cotton-pickin' - p&b was set in "catfish row," on the waterfront in charleston, south carolina, in the 1930s.
    That's what it refers to - nothing else - it was a contemporary tale, not historical.
    1 reply
  • U
    + 26
    Unregistered 2012-07-21 15:41:01
    I feel like so many of us get upset without really considering the intent. Yes, in the old south, the "mammy" was a servant- perhaps even a slave. The meaning is deeper. It's about life. Summer time is the time to be enjoying what god has given you. A time for sowing and reaping, yes, also a time to give thanks for the protections you have. And then one day you will "fly away"- but be at peace- you are being cared for. Your rich daddy may be a reference to a privileged child then, but it's also a reference to all of us- who have a heavenly father. My two bits.
    1 reply
  • U
    + 16
    Unregistered 2011-12-22 11:56:30
    Judging from the comments here, many of you have not seen porgy & bess. Perhaps you should see it before making erroneous comments. To clarify matters, *summertime* is being sung by a black woman to her baby (and not a white man's own) towards dusk at the end of an extremely hot day. The original gershwin opera has the woman working on a plantation, but there is never any suggestion that she is a slave.
    Add your reply
  • k
    + 9
    KARAMOKO 2015-03-30 19:12:07
    I live in Ivory Coast and I am passionate about jazz! I listened to this song for the first time in instrumental version (Miles Davis). When I listened to the version sung (George Benson), I was thrilled and I also had tears in my eyes. I feel very close to the African Americans. I love USA!
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 2
    Unregistered 2012-03-06 03:00:22
    This song is a lullaby about how the kid shouldn't worry. That its parents will take care of it, and when its ready to be on its own, it can, but until then they will take care of it. Also, when a person sings their own version of this song, it doesn't really count as a cover, because thi song is a standard, and it is normal for a good singer to make their own version of this wonderful song. (i wonder what would happen if lady gaga made a version of it. *Shudder*)
    Add your reply
  • l
    + 1
    Lenellamax 2010-06-21 16:32:19
    You have to realize that this was written as a old south lullabye sung by a nursemaid. Summertime in the south brought about an easier way of living if there was such a thing. But it wasn't cold, and many slaves didn't even have shoes or outerware. This is further supported by the fact that the child's parents were rich, most likely plantation owners. People back then were either rich or poor. There wasn't a middle class. It talks about how the child will be protected while in it's parents care. But like all children they grow up and spread their wings and begin their own life. - A tribute to the first day of summer today.
    1 reply
  • j
    0
    jadgit 2011-04-24 06:52:33
    Notice the subtle difference in wording. Baby's "mama" is good-looking, meaning the master's wife. But the well-being, until death arrives, will come from daddy's power and wealth, and from protection and love by "mammy" - not mama. Mammy is the black female who's singing the song, and who loves the child whose mama can't be bothered to take much time for it. As my friend who was raised in the South reports, that was sometimes the Southern way, as it was for him.
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  • U
    - 1
    Unregistered 2012-01-14 21:30:03
    Makes me feel that back in louisiana the slaves or black folks we sitting on their porch and there is a saxaphone and a trumpet and a women singing summertime and the music is makeing think of nothing else that's going on but that's within their souls so when you listen too it I'm makes a settting back when they had sung that song to touch their souls like them it touchs my soul.
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  • U
    - 2
    Unregistered 2016-01-20 15:02:39
    I am a Scottish woman who never saw or spoke to a black person until I was 10. I am happy to say slavery wasn't a thing we had in my country so I think this song to me is a black slave singing to a white child and the line your daddy and mama are the white parent but when she refers to mammy (what is a Scottish word I called my mother) she is speaking of herself I think you could interpretate the song however you like but that's the way I think of it.
    Add your reply
  • s
    - 2
    snidley 2011-05-21 01:31:45
    I wonder if this song was originally written to be of a "duskly maid" to her child in a post-slavery era when, in the deep south (and I'm sure elsewhere) rich white men kept black mistresses. Now, I know this song ended up being in Porgy and Bess, but it wouldn't be the first time a song was written for one purpose, and then used later on for another.
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  • U
    - 3
    Unregistered 2012-01-26 15:48:13
    I think this is a severe case of over-analyzation. Sublime writes alot of music. Usually when brad delivers music in this style its more of a summer time lazy days anthem. I mean I'm sure he did this in full respect to the original, but used the lyrics to portray lbc in like august of the early 90s. Alot of laid back drinking smoking, partying, playing backyard shows. The imagery gives me a feeling of diving down a highway with the sunset with alot of urban movie-like characters smoking a joint, drinkin some 40s. Idk I guess if you disagree you never grew up in ny or cali lol or lsitening to alot of sublime.
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  • U
    - 6
    Unregistered 2011-12-21 12:21:47
    Ok so I admit that I have not seen porgy and bess. However.
    1. We live in a land of plenty - fish are jumping and the cotton is high. (yet some people have more than others.)
    2. . This song is sung by a black slave to a white child. (your daddy, your mamma).
    3. This child will be ok because his or her dad is rich and mother good looking - afterall this is how the world works.
    4. One day this child will be free, to choose and to live. (but will the slave.?)
    5. Daddy and mammy standing by.? How loving is that to stand by and watch whilst your child crys and is comforted and truly loved by your slave.?
    6. But its ok you have got everything you need in this world. Your daddys rich and you mammas good looking.
    Where as the slave.?
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    • U
      + 30
      Unregistered
      Might I suggest to some (most?), posting comments here that you get the dvd of porgy & bess? Then... Read more →
    • U
      + 26
      Unregistered
      I feel like so many of us get upset without really considering the intent. Yes, in the old south,... Read more →
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    George Gershwin - Summertime

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    [Intro][Verse][Pre-Chorus][Chorus][Hook][Bridge][Outro]