> Anne Briggs > Songs > Summer’s In

Summer’s In

[ Roud - ; Anne Briggs]

Anne Briggs recorded her song Summer’s In in 1973 for her album Sing a Song for You. On this track she was accompanied by Barry Dransfield and Ragged Robin. Sadly the album remained unpublished until 1996 when it finally appeared on CD. Anne Briggs noted:

This song is a celebration of a way of life I lived in the West of Ireland in the mid-sixties, shared with many musicians and friends, largely concentrated around my travels with Sweeney’s Men—an early Irish folk group of great renown and lasting influence.

Lyrics

Anne Briggs sings Summer’s In

Cuckoo’s call the evening to still,
The sky went down and the nightbird’s wing
Falls over, the last day of Spring.

Chorus (repeated after each verse):
For Summer is in,
Everyone sing
Ah, ah, ah,
Let us begin!

The other day, it being warm
We walked beside the fresh green corn,
Gathered flowers in a garland to deck the day.

Friends and neighbours gather near,
Come drink with us a brew of beer?
And share in our fortune that the sun does bring.

The king and the queen one morning in May
Played chess in the valley to see who could stay,
The stream in its travels laughing away.

We’ve sung in the markets, the pubs and the fair,
We made no money, but what do we care?
We’ll sleep in a haystack and be on our way.

We’ve gathered our feast along the seashore,
Cockles and mussels, enough for us all.
We’ll eat in the sand dunes and then go back for more.

Scattered around us, where we lay,
Are the bones of million years away,
Bleached by the sunshine in the past few day.

Think of the ages blown in the sand,
Think where an ancient people did stand,
And think of your fortune to be child of this land.