IN THE SUMMERTIME
MUNGO JERRY(BAND)
SONGWRITER: RAY DORSET
COUNTRY: UK
ALBUM: ELETRONICALLY TESTED
LABEL: DAWN
GENRE: SKIFFLE
YEAR: 1970
"In
the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry.
Written and composed by its lead singer, Ray Dorset,
it celebrates the carefree days of summer. In 1970 it reached number one in
charts around the world, including seven weeks in the UK Singles Chart,
two weeks in one of the Canadian charts,
and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles
of 1970 and eventually sold more than 30 million copies.
The song
took Dorset only ten minutes to write and compose, which he did using a
second-hand Fender
Stratocaster while he was taking time off work
from his regular job, working in a lab for Timex.
The song's lyric "have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can
find" led to the song's somewhat ironic use in a UK advert for the
campaign Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives.
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh
In
the summertime when the weather is hot
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather's fine
You got women, you got women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
Go out and see what you can find
If her daddy's rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor just do what you feel
Speed along the lane
Do a ton or a ton an' twenty-five
When the sun goes down
You can make it, make it good in a lay-by
We're no threat, people
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we do as we please
When the weather's fine
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for livin' yeah, that's our philosophy
Sing along with us
Dee dee dee-dee dee
Dah dah dah-dah dah
Yeah we're hap-happy
Dah dah-dah
Dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
Dah-do-dah-dah-dah
Dah-dah-dah do-dah-dah
Alright
ah
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh,
uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh
When the winter's here, yeah it's party time
Bring your bottle, wear your bright clothes
It'll soon be summertime
And we'll sing again
We'll go drivin' or maybe we'll settle down
If she's rich, if she's nice
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh
chh-chh, uh, Chh chh-chh
In
the summertime when the weather is hot
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather's fine
You got women, you got women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
Go out and see what you can find
If
her daddy's rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor just do what you feel
Speed along the lane
Do a ton or a ton an' twenty-five
When the sun goes down
You can make it, make it good in a lay-by
We're no threat, people
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we do as we please
When the weather's fine
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for livin' yeah, that's our philosophy
Sing along with us
Dee dee dee-dee dee
Dah dah dah-dah dah
Yeah we're hap-happy
Dah dah-dah
Dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
Dah-do-dah-dah-dah