The Lovin’ Spoonful: “Summer In The City”

The song was a collaboration between John Sebastian, The Lovin Spoonful’s bassist Steve Boone, and the frontman’s brother (and non-group member) Mark Sebastian. John Sebastian recalled to Uncut magazine June 2014: “That song that came from an idea my brother Mike had. He had this great chorus, and the release was so big. I had to create some kind of tension at the front end to make it even bigger. That’s where that jagged piano part comes from.”

“Steve contributed the middle eight, which I thought sounded like Gershwin, so we hired a radio sound effects engineer to come in with records of horns and traffic, a real New York City thing.”

(source)

The Lovin’ Spoonful: “Summer In The City”

Hot town, summer in the city

Back of my neck gettin’ dirt-‘n’-gritty

Bend down, isn’t it a pity

Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city

All around people lookin’ half dead

Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match-head

{Refrain}

But at night it’s a different world

Go out and find a girl

Come on, come on and dance all night

Just bide the heat, it’ll be all right

And babe, don’t you know it’s a pity

The days can’t be like the nights

In the summer in the city, in the summer in the city

Cool town, evening in the city

Dressed so fine and looking so pretty

Cool cat, looking for a kitty

Gonna look in every corner of the city

‘Til I’m wheezing like a bus stop

Runnin’ upstairs, gonna meet you on the roof top

The Lovin’ Spoonful in 2014!

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