Soul

On August 17, 1969, at 2:00 in the morning, Janis Joplin sang “Summertime” with the Kozmic Blues Band, among other songs in her set.

The song was composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the opera Porgy and Bess. Lyrics are by DuBose Heyword, who had written the novel Porgy and the libretto for the opera. There have been more than 25,000 recordings of the song, but there was only one Janis Joplin. The Kozmic Blues Band backed up Janis after she left Big Brother and the Holding Company. They were Stephen Ryder, Cornelius “Snooky” Flowers, Sam Andrew, and Brad Campbell.

Here are the lyrics to “Summertime” by Janis Joplin:

Summertime,
Child, your living’s easy.
Fish , fish are jumping out
And the cotton, Lord,
The cotton is high, Lord so high.

Your daddy’s rich
And your ma is  mighty good-looking, baby.
She’s looking mighty fine to me now,
Hush, baby, baby, baby, baby now,
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Don’t you cry, don’t you cry.

One of these mornings
You’re gonna rise, rise up singing,
I said you’re gonna go, honey, you’re gonna spread your wings, child,
And honey  take, take to the sky,
Lord, the sky.

But until that morning,
Honey, no-n-nothing’s going to harm ya, babe
Oh honey I said nothing’s ever gonna let you down
Oh it just won’t do it
Hush, baby, baby, baby,  baby
No, no no  no don’t you cry…

For others songs by Janis Joplin: “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz,” and “Me and bobby McGee.”

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “Summertime” by Janis Joplin and The Kozmic Blues Band.