I was in your presence for an hour or so
Or was it a day? I truly don't know
Where the sun never set, where the trees hung low
By that soft and shining seaDid you respect me for what I did
Or for what I didn't do, or for keeping it hid?
Did I lose my mind when I tried to get rid
Of everything you see?In the summertime, ah in the summertime
In the summertime when you were with meI got the heart and you got the blood
We cut through iron and we cut through mud
Then came the warnin' that was before the flood
That set everybody freeFools they made a mock of sin
Our loyalty they tried to win
But you were closer to me than my next of kin
When they didn't want to know or seeIn the summertime, ah in the summertime
In the summertime when you were with meStrangers, they meddled in our affairs
Poverty and shame was theirs
But all that sufferin' was not to be compared
With the glory that is to beAnd I'm still carrying the gift you gave
It's a part of me now, it's been cherished and saved
It'll be with me unto the grave
And then unto eternityIn the summertime, ah in the summertime
In the summertime when you were with me