"Summertime The Gershwin Version" is a song by George Gershwin covered by Lana Del Rey. It was speculated to be the lead single from her then-recently announced covers album American Standards and Classics, which was later scrapped.
Background[]
"Summertime" was written by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and Ira Gershwin as an aria for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.[1] It was famously rerecorded by American jazz singer Billie Holiday, whose vocals were sampled in Del Rey's cover.[2] Musically, the song served as inspiration for, and was sampled in, Sublime's "Doin' Time", which Del Rey also covered on her 2019 album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!.[3]
Del Rey announced and released the song on all platforms on November 19, 2020, with information about the track being leaked by a fan the day previous. Del Rey used the song as a fundraiser for the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, and announced that she will be making donations to both in a move to advocate support for struggling artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Music video[]
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | November 19, 2020 |
| Length | 3:37 | |
| Director | Constellation Jones | |
| Producer | ||
| Filmed | November 2020 | |
| Location | California | |
| Vevo views | 3+ Milions views | |
Behind the scenes[]
Lyrics[]
Summertime
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton, the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy, he's rich
And your ma, she's good lookin'
So hush, little baby
Don't you cry
One of these mornings
You're gonna rise up singing
You gonna spread your wings
And take, and take to the sky
Until that morning
Ain't nothing can harm you
With daddy (daddy)
And mammy (mammy)
Standing by
Standing by
Standing by, little baby
Standing by
Credits[]
Personnel
- DuBose Heyward — Composer, Lyricist.
- George Gershwin — Composer, Lyricist.
- Ira Gershwin — Composer, Lyricist.
- Lana Del Rey — Performer, Lead Vocals.
- Kenna Ramsey — Background Vocalist.
- Melodye Perry — Background Vocalist.
- Tata Vega — Background Vocalist.
- Zach Dawes — Producer, Upright Bass.
- Gabe Simon — Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Horn.
- Dean Reid — Producer [Additional Producer], Mixing, Engineer.
- John Sher — Engineer.
- Charron Elliot — Engineer [Assistant Recording Engineer].
- Carlos Miranda — Engineer [Assistant Recording Engineer].
- Blake Stranathan — Electric Guitar.
- Byron Thomas — Keyboard [Hammond B3].
- Drew Erickson — Piano, Horn.
- Benji Lysaght — Guitar.
- Loren Humphrey — Drums.
