by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Song of Summer
Language: English
Dis is gospel weathah, sho'- Hills is swat o' hazy. Meddahs level ez a flo' Callin' to de lazy. Sky all white wif streaks o' blue, Sunshine softly gleamin', D'ain't no wuk hit 's right to do, Nothin' 's right but dreamin'. Dreamin' by de rivah side Wif de watahs glist'nin', Feelin' good an' satisfied Ez you lay a-list'nin' To the little nakid boys Splashin' in de watah, Hollerin' fu' to spress deir joys Jes' lak youngsters ought to. Squir'l a-tippin' on his toes, So 's to hide an' view you; Whole flocks o' camp-meetin' crows Shoutin' hallelujah. Peckahwood erpon de tree Tappin' lak a hammah; Jaybird chattin' wif a bee, Tryin' to teach him grammah. Breeze is blowin' wif perfume, Jes' enough to tease you; Hollyhocks is all in bloom, Smellin' fu' to please you. Go 'way, folks, an' let me 'lone, Times is gettin' dearah- Summah 's settin' on de th'one, An' I'm a-layin' neah huh!
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Song of Summer", 2009 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-22
Line count: 32
Word count: 158