In the Good Old Summer Time

For the musical film, see In the Good Old Summertime.

"In the Good Old Summer Time"
1902 sheet music cover with insert photo of singer Blanche Ring
Song
Published	1902
Writer	Ren Shields
Composer	George Evans
Language	English

"In the Good Old Summer Time" is an American Tin Pan Alley song first published in 1902 with music by George Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields.^[1]

Background

Shields and Evans were at first unsuccessfully trying to sell the song to one of New York's big sheet music publishers. The publishers thought the topic of the song doomed it to be forgotten at the end of the summer season. Blanche Ring, who had helped Evans arrange the number's piano score, was enthusiastic about it and at her urging it was added to the 1902 musical comedy show "The Defender" she was appearing in. The song was a hit from the opening night, with the audience often joining in singing the chorus.^[2]

"In the Good Old Summer Time" was one of the big hits of the era, selling popular sheet music and being recorded by various artists of the day, including John Philip Sousa's band in 1903. It has remained a standard often revived in the decades since.

The song appeared in many films, including the Judy Garland film named after it; In the Good Old Summertime. The book Elmer Gantry opens with the title character drunkenly singing the song in the saloon.

The song appeared in the episode titled Tipping the scales of the hit PBS show Arthur, and featured in the 1930 Laurel and Hardy short Below Zero in ironical terms, sung during a snowstorm.

The chorus is used with a slight twist in Baylor University's song, "That Good Old Baylor Line."

Lyrics

There's a time in each year

That we always hold dear,

Good old summer time;

With the birds and the trees-es,

And sweet scented breezes,

Good old summer time,

When you day's work is over

Then you are in clover,

And life is one beautiful rhyme,

No trouble annoying,

Each one is enjoying,

The good old summer time.

In the good old summer time,

Strolling thro' the shady lanes

With your baby mine;

You hold her hand and she holds yours,

And that's a very good sign

That she's your tootsie wootsie

In the good old summer time.

To swim in the pool,

You'd play "hooky" from school,

Good old summer time;

You'd play "ring-a-rosie"

With Jim, Kate and Josie,

Good old summer time,

Those days full of pleasure

We now fondly treasure,

When we never thought it a crime

To go stealing cherries,

With face brown as berries,

Good old summer time.