Covers of and lyrics to Leonard Cohen's "Summertime"
Rudi Schmid
"Summertime" written by Leonard Cohen & Sharon Robinson, his backup singer
on his 1979 and 1980 tours, is one of the few songs of his that Cohen never
recorded and perhaps never performed. Cohen & Robinson's "Summertime" has
been covered twice:
Flack, Roberta (born 1939, American soul/R&M singer, with recordings
1969-date)
Summertime (LC & Sharon Robinson) (4:22) ON _Set the night to music_
(Atlantic, 1991)
Ross, Diana (born 1944, American soul/R&M singer, with solo recordings
1970-date; also of The Supremes, with recordings 1960-77)
Summertime (LC & Sharon Robinson) (4:01) ON _Red hot rhythm'n'blues_
(EMI, 1987) [also on compilation _Endless love_ (RCA, 1992)]
Cohen-Robinson's "Summertime," as performed by Diana Ross, is a pleasant
song of winter longing for the relief and simplicity of summer. The lyrics
are given below. The song recalls the famous "Summertime" of George
Gershwin, another song of summertime innocence. This has been covered many
times, and its lyrics are also given below.
Incidentally, other Cohen-Robinson songs are:
Everybody knows (apparently lyrics LC, music Sharon Robinson)
Waiting for the miracle (LC & Sharon Robinson)
And, incidentally, Roberta Flack also covered these Cohen songs:
Hey, that's no way to say goodbye (TT??) ON _First take_ (Atlantic, 1969,
1987 CD, remastered 1995)
Suzanne (9:45) ON _Killing me softly_ (Atlantic, 1973, 1987 CD,
remastered 1995)
Diana Ross has not covered Cohen songs other than "Summertime".
Queries:
Does anyone know of the circumstances of the Cohen-Robinson writing of
"Summertime"? This seems a rather conscious patterning after the
Gershwin song.
Does anyone know how the song got to be covered by soul/R&B singers
Roberta Flack in 1991 and Diana Ross in 1987?
Summertime (by Leonard Cohen & Sharon Robinson)
1.
Summertime, when will you come.
I wanna put my light things on.
I wanna put my winter life away.
Summertime, I need a sunny day.
2.
I want those peaches on the table.
I want the watermelon red.
And, I want some sun creeping through the window
To ease me out of bed.
3.
I want the sand out there to lie on
And the sea out there to swim,
So my heart can take a holiday
From breaking over him.
4. as stanza 1
5.
And I want to try forever.
I want to roll the windows down,
And the breeze come over my body,
And my feet back on the ground.
6. as stanza 3
7. as stanza 1
Da, da, da, da, ... [for 45 seconds]
[Transcription from the compilation Diana Ross--_Endless love_ (RCA, 1992)
(10 tracks, TT 34:36, "Summertime being 4:01)"]
Summertime
(music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Du Bose Heyward & Ira Gershwin)
1. (sung by Ella Fitzgerald)
Summertime, and the river is easing,
Fish are jumpin',
And the cotton is high.
Oh, your's daddy is rich, and your ma is good lookin'.
So hush little baby, don't yo' cry.
2. (sung by Louis Armstrong)
One of these mornings
You gonna rise up singin'.
Yes, you spread your wings
And you take to the skies.
3. (sung by Louis Armstrong)
Hmm, but til that morning
There's nothing can harm you
Yes, sweet daddy and mommy
Stand me by.
4. (sung by Ella Fitzgerald, with Louis Armstrong partly scat singing)
Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin',
And the cotton is high.
Oh, your's daddy is rich, and your ma is good lookin'.
So hush little baby, don't yo' cry.
[Transcription from George Gershwin--_Porgy and Bess: Armstrong, Louis, &
Ella Fitzgerald_ (Verve, Germany, 1958, CD ca. 1987) (15 tracks, TT
66:12, "Summertime being 4:49)"]
--Rudi Schmid, Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley <sch...@garnet.berkeley.edu>