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Light acoustic rock folk
I play guitar and sing against backings that I have created using various software tools. I am therefore a home recorder primarily concerned with minting decent recordings of my own songs rather than a performer.
Song Info
Genre
Charts
Peak #324
Peak in subgenre #181
Author
David Watson
Rights
David Watson
Uploaded
July 19, 2008
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.6 MB • 128 kbps • 3:56
Story behind the song
This is a whimsical song about the English Summer of 2008 written as a competition entry for the homemadehitshow.com “Summer” competition. The title came to me immediately and the reggae rhythm is something I had always wanted to try.
When it came to the lyrics I was inspired more by the theme of Englishness than that of the Summer. When you think about the “English Summer” of our literature you picture idyllic scenes involving cricket, croquet, tennis, rowing and so on, all to the backdrop of Pimms, real ales and cut glass accents.
When you read the newspapers of 2008 you see instead the reality is a country marred by flooding, a steady rise of knife crime, youngsters on the verge of criminal insurrection and the police afraid to act for fear of litigation by the very legal system they represent.
Our politicians are meanwhile engaged in the most unseemly rush to grab every expense perk and finagle themselves salary increases whilst appealing for pay restraint in these new inflationary times. We pay them this money to allow them to explain away how the country has been improved by the increased spending in public services, those same services that cannot empty bins each week, cannot mark school exam papers on time, cannot afford to keep criminals in prison, cannot afford drugs to treat diseases in our miraculous NHS. You are probably realising I could go on like this for some time...
So the song became a battleground really, for the vision of an English Summer. There are three voices and each covers a different vision of this hotch potch country of ours. Simplistically you can think of them as the upper class twit, the stoic middle class taxpayer and the wily thug forever playing the system.
They sing together for the only part that they agree on “It’s an English Summer”. For the rest of the verses it is an attempt to make light hearted what is in fact a real problem for the British. The loss of national identity and social responsibility amongst the new wave of immigrants, young parents and their children. It bodes ill for our future.
Still cheer up… you’ll probably die before you get old, in true Who fashion.
As regards the song itself it is really a MIDI generated song. There are no live instruments played, I would normally add guitar at least. The song is really about the lyrics and to be honest a guitar part would have just intruded. I enjoyed the use of the bandoneon voice with a reggae rythm, it seemed very summery and quite in tune with the theme of mixed up identities. A sort of Reggae meets Morris dancing vibe...
I initially recorded just the bare song verses but was then struck by the possibility for lines of background chatter between the singers. It gave the opportunity to heighten the sense of a conflict going on. Whether you end up liking it or not I certainly had fun with the singing duties and I hope that comes over.
If you enjoyed the song don’t forget to rate it on Soundclick, you’ll make a newly qualified “grumpy old man” very happy.
Lyrics
It’s an English summer…!
And the weather’s getting rummer
You can tell because it’s rainin’
The river levels are all gainin’
Now we know where all the sewage went
It’s decorating the environment…
Ah, but that’s all right…
We don’t like the sun too bright
An’ my barbecue is rusty
The garden seats are all musty
An my skin would just start bleedin’
From all the insects I was feedin’…
It’s an English summer…!
An all the girls are getting dumber
Despite the weather they just bare their skin
To show the suntan that they just rubbed in
But if you take a peek inside their shirt
They’ll only tell you you’re a big pervert -Tell me abart it
Ah, but that’s all right…
At least you got an insight
As long as you don’t bother her
They can’t put you a register -You shouldn’t talk that way
And if she’s over sixteen, smile -Charming
They can’t label you a paedophile -Oh, I say…
It’s an English summer…!
An’ the news is getting glummer
We didn’t make it to the Euro fest
It seems our soccer is no longer best
So as we cry into our Weetabix
We remember 1966
Aaaaarh, but that’s all right…
At least we get to pick a fight -How charming…!
We like the feeling that we won the war -Well that’s true…
As we kick them all to the floor -Now that’s alarming…
We like to drink until we fall down pissed -Naughty you…
In the urinal that we just missed -Eugh…!
It’s an English summer…!
An’ it’s gonna be a bummer
Now Parliament’s in recess
They left us in a big mess
To busy fiddling their expenses
To get up off their fences
Aaaarh, but that’s all right
At least we got some daylight
It means when I get home at night
I get to see the Hoodies fight -Oh I say…
An when then come to grab ya’
You can see they’re gonna stab ya’ -No way…
Aaaarh, but that’s all right
You’d think they’d get an ASBO right -Isn’t this our verse?
The police won’t even slap their wrists
They’re to busy taxing motorists -He’s getting worse
Or sitting at the station
Completing documentation -Right on…!
Aaaarh, but that’s all right
I can blow them up with dynamite -He’s really mad...!
Or fix ‘em in my gunsights -That’s really bad...!
I can violate their human rights -How very sad
If I get ‘em an’ they’re really dead -A bit of a lad
I can dig ‘em in my flowerbed -Oh, I say…
Aaaaarh, well that’s not great
We’d like to set the record straight
We English make it very clear -Why do they sing that way?
Killing’s not the done thing here -They must be gay
We’re too polite to mention -What’s wrong with them?
All this rising social tension -I like a bit of mayhem
And we embrace
Traditions like the Boat Race
We watch the horses jump at Badminton
We visit Glastonbury and say ‘right on’
We watch the cricket and we drink warm beer
After all, we live in Worcestershire
It’s an English summer…!
NOTES for the non English
ASBO is an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, a penalty for young offenders designed by our politicians to be so toothless that the young seek them as validation of their Hoodie status.
Soccer is a game involving a lot of running about kicking a round ball. There are no TV ad breaks for a whole 45 minutes and rarely more than two goals per match, it'll never catch on.
The reference to 1966 was the last time that the English national soccer team won anything, well for playing soccer anyway. It was the "World Cup"...
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