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by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)

Summah is de lovin' time
Language: English 
Summah is de lovin' time--
Don' keer what you say.
Night is allus peart an' prime,
Bettah dan de day.
Do de day is sweet an' good,
Birds a-singin' fine,
Pines a-smellin' in de wood,--
But de night is mine.

Rivah whisperin' "howdy do,"
Ez it pass you by--
Moon a-lookin' down at you,
Winkin' on de sly.
Frogs a-croakin' f'om de pon',
Singin' bass dey fill,
An' you listen way beyon'
Ol' man whippo'will.

Hush up, honey, tek my han',
Mek yo' footsteps light;
Somep'n' kin' o' hol's de lan'
On a summah night.
Somep'n' dat you nevah sees
An' you nevah hyeahs,
But you feels it in de breeze,
Somep'n' nigh to teahs.

Somep'n' nigh to teahs? dat's so;
But hit's nigh to smiles.
An' you feels it ez you go
Down de shinin' miles.
Tek my han', my little dove;
Hush an' come erway--
Summah is de time fu' love,
Night-time beats de day!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "A summer night", appears in Howdy Honey Howdy, first published 1905 [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 Amanda Ira Aldridge (1866 - 1956), "Summah is de Lovin' Time", subtitle: "A Summer Night", published 1925 [ voice and piano ], London: Chappell & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "A summer night", 2010 [ medium voice or low voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-12-28
Line count: 32
Word count: 157

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