Summersongs: Covers for the Coming Season
In my memory, summers are forever sunny. The grass is a perfect green; the air is clear and dry. Smiling faces are everywhere, though solitude is easily found. There are no tasks, save the pursuit of the wandering spirit. Nature beckons like a beacon.
In real life, of course, I awoke to another rainy day on the first day of summer, my body weary and cramped from joyous dancing and stage-shifting in the Clearwater rain. The girls are still asleep as I write this, but I can hear their beds creaking as they stir; in moments, they will pour down the stairs like rain in the gutterspouts to fling their arms around me and beg me to open their father’s day present.
The skies may be dark, but my heart is light. The world is full of the things I love best: music, family, and all the time in the world. Summer is here again. Let the games begin.
- Ana Egge: Summer Wastin’ (orig. Belle & Sebastian)
(airy folkpop from Lazy Days, 2007) - Custom Kings: Boys of Summer (orig. Don Henley)
(tinkly acoustic jazzfolk from Triple J’s Like a Version, Vol. 3; more Custom Kings here) - Gillian Welch: Summer Evening (orig. Greg Brown)
(languid dustbowl countryfolk from Going Driftless: A Tribute to Greg Brown, 2002; more Gillian here) - Greg Brown and Bill Morrissey: Summer Wages (orig. Ian Tyson)
(ragged coffeehouse folk from Friend of Mine, 1993) - June Tabor & Oysterband: Mississippi Summer (orig. Si Kahn)
(mystical British folk rock from Freedom and Rain, 1990) - St. Vincent & The National: Sleep All Summer (orig. Crooked Fingers)
(high-concept indie folkpop from Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers, 2009; more St. Vincent here; more of The National here) - Mark Kozelek: Celebrated Summer (orig. Husker Du)
(stunning echofolk from The Finally LP, 2009) - UNPOC: Summer Song (orig. James Yorkston)
(pulsing lo-fi bedroomfolk from the sold-out covers companion to When The Haar Rolls In, 2008; more UNPOC here) - Sara Watkins: Long Hot Summer Days (orig. John Hartford)
(sparse popgrass from Sara Watkins, 2009)
In the interest of time and temerity, I’m hoarding covers of that old familiar Gershwin tune for a future Single Song Sunday post; come back some other warm summer day for Dave Grisman, Eva Cassidy, John Fahey, and others.
In the meantime, as always, eschew the mass market commodifiers of culture, who would sell you packaged, plastic summer in a second. Instead, play, wander, and buy local. You can start by clicking on artist and album links above to support the artists that work hard to provide the soundtracks to all our seasons.
Oh, and Happy Fathers Day to all. Whether you celebrate or are celebrated today, may summer be just one of your many blessings.
Cover Lay Down publishes new coverfolk features Sundays, Wednesdays, and the occasional otherday.
Category: Uncategorized
June 21st, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Celebrated Father’s Day and summer by picking strawberries with my daughter followed by a cookout lunch at my son’s. Delicious start to the season.
Just finished washing and hulling my share of the booty. Will spend the rest of the evening air drying and quick freezing most of the crop. Should have most of a year’s supply when done. Of course I have to leave out enough to go with this weeks breakfast.
Checked my library to see what I had in the way of “Strawberry” covers. Nary a one.
Oh well, just cued up.
The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever
Michelle Shocked - Strawberry Jam
Deana Carter - Strawberry Wine
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:53 am
We did the pick-and-freeze strawberry thing last year, Owyn, but this year it’s been so wet, we only managed two quarts between rainstorms! Still, though the songs are long gone, here’s the set list: Strawberry Sunday
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:26 am
Hmmm. I do have Michelle Shocked - Arkansas Traveler but it has been in my library for a while and it is not tagged as well as it should be. e.g. Composer=”Michelle Shocked” instead of “Trad.; Michelle Shocked(Arr)”, missing most of the Involved People, and finally and most seriously not flagged as covers.
This shall be fixed.
Thanks for the link. As you noted, Strawberry songs are slim pickings, even as originals.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Sleep All Summer has thus far been my personal anthem. Wonderful post!
June 27th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Glastonbury - Neil younf - Day in the Life.
Wow!
July 19th, 2009 at 11:32 am
[...] promised when we last visited the songs of summer, then: a good and typically diverse set of folk and folk-hybrid takes on this cultural classic. [...]
July 25th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Thanks for sharing, I hadn’t heard this St Vincent/National cover. You’ll hopefully enjoy this St Vincent interview we just did too http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4137450-blank-stares-and-black-holes–dis-meets-st-vincent
August 10th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Thank you SO much for sharing these! I have been trying to find the cover of Boys of Summer by Custom Kings for ages!!
Thank you thank you thank you!!
November 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
A very fine collection, and now that it’s getting colder, good timing to discover these. Thanks a lot.