About the song
Few artists can traverse musical genres with the quiet confidence and emotional authenticity of **Willie Nelson**. When he turns his attention to a classic like **Summertime**, the result is more than just a cover—it becomes a reinterpretation rooted in the dusty roads of American music history. Originally composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera *Porgy and Bess*, **Summertime** has been performed countless times by a wide range of artists. But when **Willie Nelson** lends his voice to the piece, he doesn’t simply revisit it—he reclaims it, in his own weathered and soulful style.
Released as part of his 2016 album *Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin*, this rendition is a testament to **Nelson’s** lifelong musical curiosity and his reverence for the American songbook. Known primarily for his outlaw country persona, **Willie Nelson** has always been a musical polyglot. In **Summertime**, he strips away the operatic grandeur and leans into a slower, more intimate phrasing. The result is a song that feels like it’s being sung to you on a front porch at dusk, with the cicadas humming in the background and the last rays of sunlight fading on the horizon.
What makes **Willie Nelson – Summertime** so compelling is not just the arrangement—although the gentle guitar lines and subtle jazz touches are beautifully rendered—but the sheer emotional weight of his voice. There’s a weather-beaten tenderness in the way he delivers lines like “your daddy’s rich and your mama’s good looking.” He doesn’t rush them. Instead, he lets each word hang in the air, as if he’s been thinking about them for decades. It’s a performance that brings new emotional layers to lyrics that might otherwise seem overly familiar.
In many ways, **Summertime** becomes a bridge between eras. It’s Gershwin through the lens of Nelson—part jazz standard, part country lullaby, entirely heartfelt. For listeners who appreciate the timeless appeal of a well-crafted melody and the wisdom of a seasoned voice, **Willie Nelson – Summertime** offers a rich and rewarding experience. It reminds us that great songs don’t belong to any one genre or moment in time—they live on through the voices that continue to breathe life into them.
Video
Lyrics
Summertime (Summertime)
And the living’s easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy’s rich
Yeah, your mama’s good-lookin’
So hush, little baby
Don’t you cry
One of these mornings
You’re gonna rise up singin’
Then you’ll spread your wings
And you’ll take to the sky
But until that mornin’
Nothing’s gonna harm you
Not with your daddy and your mama
Standin’ by
Summertime (Summertime)
And the livin’ is easy
One of these mornings
You’re gonna rise up singin’
Then you’ll spread your wings
Then you’ll take to the sky
But until that mornin’
There’s nothin’ gonna harm you
Not with your daddy and your mama
Standin’ by
Summertime
And the living’s easy
Summertimе
The livin’ is easy
Summertimе (Summertime)
The livin’ is easy
So hush, little baby
Don’t you cry
