Summer is comin'

 As the days become warmer and brighter, I think back to the glorious childhood summers of endless joy and sunshine.  I suspect the memories are coloured with a fair slice of imagination as the weather was clearly as changeable then as now, but we only remember the good days!   One thing about summer that didn't change was the Summer concert and the predictable 13th century song 'Summer is a-coming in'.  There are many versions of this, which I suppose is not surprising given the length of time it has been around. I still remember the version we sang:

Summer is a coming in,
Loud now sing, cuckoo.
Groweth seed, and bloweth reed,
And spring the woods anew.    
Sing Cuckoo.
Ewe now bleateth after lamb,
Loweth after calf the cow,
Bullock starteth,  buck now verteth,
Merry sing cuckoo, cuckoo  cuckoo. 
Well singst thou cuckoo, 
Nor leave thou never now.

We were told that it dated from the thirteenth century and the earliest copy was found in Reading Abbey. 

It was written to be sung as a round and we enjoyed singing it that way, though it could be sing in unison too.

Here is a link to a version on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQGXj82NTGM


Image: This file has been provided by the British Library from its digital collections.Catalogue entry: Harley MS 978- Illustrated catalogue - Online viewer (Info), CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31452995

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