Summersongs: Coverfolk for the Lazy Season
A teacher’s summer in smalltown New England goes by like an infinity of lazy, hazy afternoons. Midweek and weekend blur together like the hours: we forget what day it is, and laugh when we check the mail on Sunday.
Most mornings I find myself here on the porch in the late morning sun, laptop and coffee and old dog at my feet, before the wife and kids wake into the heat of the day. Maybe later we’ll pull the other camper up and freshen it up for festival season; maybe not.
Yesterday we took the kids to Six Flags, and it rained just in time to cool us down. We found a darling new Italian place for supper afterwards, and stuffed ourselves on homemade pasta and cannoli. And then, although it was late and the kids were tired, we sang in the car the whole way home, gleeful and alive, the four of us off for the summer, and together.
We are more than lucky. We are blessed: by the smalltown and its July fourth parade, the barbecues with friends while the kids splash happily in the newer, bigger pool, fireworks at Old Sturbridge Village and the tailgate party afterwards in the dark, while the fireflies blink in the bushes.
A summerset, then, from ragtag and rousing to soft and sentimental folk, with Kris Delmhorst’s sultry Cars cover, The National and St. Vincent’s indiepop, a soulcoustic Jason Mraz taking on a Seals & Crofts classic, and Teddy Thompson’s tender torchsong in tribute to Kate McGarrigle along the way. Plus Mark Kozelek’s delicate and dreamy heavy metal coverage, Ana Egge’s lush folkpop, Lisa Loeb’s rockin’ kidscamp take on the theme song to Meatballs, and more. Because every summer needs a soundtrack, and it’s been five years since we posted one here.
Summersongs: a coverfolk mix [zip!]
- Kris Delmhorst: Magic (orig. The Cars) [2011]
- Gillian Welch: Summer Evening (orig. Greg Brown) [2002]
- Ana Egge: Summer Wastin’ (orig. Belle & Sebastian) [2007]
- Custom Kings: Boys Of Summer (orig. Don Henley) [2006]
- Mark Erelli: Summer Night (orig. Bill Morrissey) [2002]
- Sara Watkins: Long Hot Summer Nights (orig. John Hartford) [2010]
- June Tabor & The Oyster Band: Mississippi Summer (orig. Si Khan) [1990]
- Mark Kozelek: Celebrated Summer (orig. Husker Du) [2008]
- Miley Cyrus: Summertime Sadness (orig. Lana Del Ray) [2013]
- Chuck Pinnell: The Last Rose of Summer (trad.) [2011]
- The Moon Loungers: In The Summertime (orig. Mungo Jerry) [2013]
- The National w/ St. Vincent: Sleep All Summer (orig. Crooked Fingers) [2009]
- Teddy Thompson: Saratoga Summer Song (orig. Kate & Anna McGarrigle) [2010]
- Jason Mraz: Summer Breeze (orig. Seals & Crofts) [2010]
- Lisa Loeb: Are You Ready For The Summer? (orig. from Meatballs) [2008]
Previously on Cover Lay Down: Our Single Song Sunday feature on Gershwin classic “Summertime”.
Category: Mixtapes 2 comments »
July 13th, 2014 at 1:45 pm
Very nice bunch of songs, as usual. Thanks. It’s Mungo Jerry, though, not Jerry Mungo.
[D’oh! Fixed! – boyhowdy]
July 16th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
I don’t usually comment on blogs but yours is very well written, warm, humorous and a joy to read. This is great mix. Keep up the good work and greetings from the other side of the “pond”.