Summertime – the August poetry challenge

To introduce the next competition, I can’t resist quoting a lyrical George (this week’s name, innit?):

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

Or if you prefer the inimitable Eddie:

I’m gonna raise a fuss
I’m gonna raise a  holler
About a workin’ all summer  just to try to earn a dollar
Every time I call my baby,  and try to get a date
My boss says, “No  dice son, you gotta work late”
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna  do
But there ain’t no cure for  the summertime blues

Sometimes it helps to set your verses to music – even rewriting a well-known ditty to mirror your own thoughts. So why not do just that this time? Take a tune from your memory-bank and let the words flow. The only rule is: it must be about summertime – with all its possibilities, be they mundane or fantastic, sweet or sour.

Closing date: 26th August, summer bank holiday Monday, Backside’s breakfast-time.

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Author: Janus

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8 thoughts on “Summertime – the August poetry challenge”

  1. Aw Janus, I hate to do this to you, but in the interests of veracity, I should point out that the lyrics to ‘Summertime’ were actually written by one, DuBose Heyward. I can understand your opting for the more conventionally (by Anglo Saxon standards) named Mr Gershwin as I am not sure that Britain is ready for a King DuBose, though things may have changed 40 years from now.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summertime_(song)

    To be fair, while I was pretty sure that George was not the lyricist (well not the main one anyway, though he does appear to have been given some of the credit), I thought that if it was not somebody else completely, it might have been his brother Ira. Mind you, I am not sure King Ira is any better.

  2. Many famous George’s have taken the credit for stuff they did and didn’t do. One blamed his little chopper, I recall. And as for Eddies, they were always up to no good. PS I doubt the vearcity of ‘I hate to do this to you’. 🙂

  3. Ok, I will give it a go:-

    Summertime, the time for clouds,
    Summertime, the time for crowds,
    This means it’s time to reach
    A tiny area of the beach.

    Manky deck chairs squash your thumbs,
    Solid benches numb your bums
    The rain falls relentlessly
    To bugger the al fresco tea!

    Yellow sand just all around
    It’s dodgy to sit on the ground
    The sand finds each nook and cranny
    Especially those of your dear Granny.

    The wind blows almost everywhere
    Causes the ancient windbreak to tear.
    To inflate the lilo is just enough
    To make you run out of puff.

    Now the floods begin to flow
    It really is just time to go
    Now the bit to break your heart,
    The bloody car won’t start!

    A pessimimist, moi? 🙂

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