SUMMER COUNTRY GIRL (Hali Hammer)
In New York City there was lots to see, but you went to a park to view a tree
And on the street where the El rolled by, when the cinders blew you had to shut your eye
But in summer, we’d pack up and go to the house near the top of High Mountain Road
Where colors bloomed in another hue from the gray-brown town I knew
Chorus: I was a kid from the city such a different world
But come summertime, I was a country girl,
Come summertime I was a country girl
I’d run out in the morning, hug the big oak tree and I felt it calmly hugging back at me
I’d play with the frogs by the dripping pipe, put leaves in a jar & keep some overnight
After dark, on the porch without TV, we’d have conversations with the family
The man in the moon watched from on high as stars and fireflies filled the sky
Chorus: I was a kid from the city such a different world
But come summertime, I was a country girl,
Come summertime I was a country girl
On my secret rock through the white birch grove, I’d hide from the world & play all alone
I thought parakeets grew from the green pod seeds in the magic place of the tall milkweeds
I had boulders to climb and places to run, I’d get brown at the lake in the strong hot sun
Pluck buckets of berries blue-black and sweet boiled to syrup for a year-round treat
Chorus: I was a kid from the city such a different world
But come summertime, I was a country girl,
Come summertime I was a country girl
(Instrumental)
With threads from the vein of a leaf I’d split, I’d sew with a needle made from a twig
Pick flowers & seeds, then I’d make a feast for my dolls & I to sit down and eat
Before the leaves went crisp & the air turned cool we’d pack up so I could go on back to school
But the rest of the year, no matter what would be, a part of summer stayed inside of me
A part of summer stayed inside of me
Chorus: I was a kid from the city such a different world
But come summertime, I was a country girl,
Come summertime I was a country girl