How a single word transformed a lullaby into a masterpiece of American music

Music · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: George Gershwin intended to compose his own spiritual, blending jazz with the folk styles of the American South. The result was Summertime, a song so evocative that Stephen Sondheim argued a single conjunction in its opening line carries more weight than the entire rest of the lyric.

Composed in 1934 for the opera Porgy and Bess, Summertime began as an attempt by George Gershwin to capture the essence of African American folk music. Although Gershwin maintained he did not use pre-existing spirituals, the song is frequently linked to the spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. Musicologist K. J. McElrath notes that Gershwin’s success in achieving a folk-like quality relied on his strategic use of the pentatonic scale and a slow, blues-inflected harmonic progression. This structure has made the aria a perennial favorite for jazz performers, allowing for immense stylistic flexibility.

The lyrics, written by DuBose Heyward, were inspired by the southern folk spiritual-lullaby All My Trials. Stephen Sondheim famously praised the opening line, Summertime and, for its poetic precision. He argued that the inclusion of the word and creates a specific, informal tone and a stream-of-consciousness diction that defines the opera's character. To Sondheim, this choice was worth its weight in gold, elevating the line far above a more conventional phrasing like Summertime when.

Since its debut, the song has transcended its operatic origins to become a global jazz standard. It was first recorded by Abbie Mitchell in 1935, with Gershwin himself on piano. Over the decades, it has been reimagined in countless genres, from Billie Holiday’s 1936 chart-topping jazz rendition to Billy Stewart’s 1966 R&B hit. By 2005, The Jazz Discography documented 1,161 official recordings, cementing its status as one of the most significant compositions in American musical history.

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