"Summertime" is a song written in 1934 by George Gershwin as part of the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics, which include two stanzas, were written by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy, on which the opera was based.

The song became a widely recorded jazz standard and is often described as "one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote." It combines elements of jazz and traditional songs from Black communities in the southeastern United States during the early 1900s. Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim called Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" "the best lyrics in the musical theater."

Porgy and Bess

George Gershwin started writing the song in December 1933. He wanted to create a spiritual song inspired by African American folk music from that time. By February 1934, he had finished setting DuBose Heyward's poem to music. He spent the next 20 months completing and arranging the music for the opera.

The song appears multiple times in Porgy and Bess. After the group sings "wa-do-wa," the song's lyrics are the first words heard in act 1, performed by Clara as a lullaby. The song is later used again in act 2 during a scene showing a craps game, sung by Clara. In act 3, Bess sings the song to Clara's baby, who has become an orphan after both parents died in a storm.

The song was first recorded on July 19, 1935, by Abbie Mitchell. George Gershwin played the piano and conducted the orchestra for this recording (on: George Gershwin Conducts Excerpts from Porgy & Bess, Mark 56 667).

The 1959 film version of the opera included Loulie Jean Norman singing the song. This performance reached number 52 in AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs list of top American movie songs.

Analysis

Heyward was inspired by the southern folk song that is also a lullaby, "All My Trials." He had Clara sing a short part of this song in his play Porgy. The lyrics have been praised highly by Stephen Sondheim. He wrote about the opening line of the song:

Music expert K. J. McElrath wrote about the song:

Although Gershwin said he did not use any previously composed spirituals in his opera, the song Summertime is often considered an adaptation of the African American spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." This spiritual was the final song in the play version of Porgy.

Other versions

Statistics about how many times "Summertime" has been recorded differ depending on the source. Older records only include versions sold through stores, while newer sources may also count recordings shared online. In 2005, the Jazz Discography listed 1,161 official releases, making it the fourth most popular jazz standard.

Other well-known versions include:

• In September 1936, Billie Holiday’s recording became the first to reach the top 10 on the US pop charts, reaching number 12.
• Sidney Bechet’s 1939 recording was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
• Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald’s version, from their 1959 album Porgy and Bess, received a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2022.
• The Chris Columbo Quintet’s version reached number 93 on the US charts in 1963.
• Billy Stewart’s R&B version, which included scat singing, reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the R&B chart in 1966. It also reached number 39 in the UK and number 13 in Canada.
• In 1982, the Fun Boy Three’s version reached number 18 on the UK singles chart.