Open Mic Week 40: Gershwin's Summertime

morodiene (59)in #openmic • 9 years ago (edited)

This week I thought Summertime from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess would be appropriate. Summer is coming late to us this year, but it's finally here! Not so sure how the fish are doing or if the cotton's high, but I did wake up this morning singing to do this recording! I have the lyrics below.

Summertime, and the livin' is easy,

Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high,

Oh, your Daddy's rich and your Ma is good lookin'

So hush, little baby, don't you cry.

One of these mornin's your gonna wake up singin'

Then you'll spread your wings and you'll take the sky,

But till that mornin' there's a nothin' can harm you

With Daddy and Mammy standin' by.

Here's the source link for the track.

#singing #music #music-trail #opera

9 years ago in #openmic by morodiene (59)

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negativer (62) 9 years ago

Glorious and well done! This song always sounds sad to me.

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morodiene (59) 9 years ago

It is rather sad in the opera. It's first sung by Clara to her baby, who is an African-American living in a black tenement in Charleston around the 30's. The place is hit by a hurricane, and Clara sings it as she huddles in a shelter with her baby. Then she sees her lover in a boat outside, hands her baby to Bess and tries to go save him, and dies in the process. Then Bess sings it to the baby in the last act. Pretty sad stuff.

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bluerthangreen (60) 9 years ago

I like the English versions of opera the best! Well done!

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morodiene (59) 9 years ago

Thanks! There are quite a few American operas, but not all of them are this good. Glad you enjoyed it ;)

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mattphilleo (60) 9 years ago

Wow! Nice job, Erin. I like that the words are in English. :) That last note especially was well done, and I like the way you scaled it back down with all the intervals so smoothly. You also seem to sing with a smile on your face, and I think it works with these words. Is this originally an African American spriritual?

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morodiene (59) 9 years ago

It's not a spiritual, but I think it was written to sound like one. Gershwin lived just around the time jazz was being born, which has its roots in African-American spirituals, so no doubt he listened a lot to that and incorporated it into his opera.

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