In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry

In 1970, "In the Summertime" rocked all the charts with, to date, 30 million copies sold. Written and composed by Ray Dorset, it was recorded by his (British) rock group Mungo Jerry, where Dorset was lead singer and guitarist. The name was inspired by the poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer", included in the collection of T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" (on which the musical "Cats" was based).

Dorset says that the melody just popped into his head one day, and the next day he wrote the lyrics. Few songs have endured like this one, that goes on being included onto playlists every summer and very often used in movies, TV shows and commercials. Some of the lyrics were a mirror of the 70's and would certainly not be acceptable behaviour today, as drink and drive, or respect the girl only if she's rich...

The lyrics reflected the dream of (male) teenagers of the 70's: a convertible, a drink, a girl. The music was "catchy", and included also non-conventional instruments: vocals, guitars (acoustic and electric), cabasa, banjo, jug, string bass, piano, stomping feet, a roaring car. This kind of rock'n roll was known as "skiffle", a music genre with jazz, blues, folk and American folk influences, and with the addition of homemade or improvised instruments. The etymology of the word "skiffle" is unknown, but similar-sounding words - such as skiff = touch lightly, move quickly - suggest an onomatopoeic origin.

Language Notes:

"when the weather is high" = in the first line, in some versions we have "hot" instead of "high"
"You can turn or return on twenty-five" = 25 might be the speed (miles per hour), or the name of the road. In other version the line is: "Do a ton or a ton and twenty-five" which means: speed up to 100 mph or 125 mph.
lay-by = roadside rest area (piazzola di sosta)

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