The two Midwestern natives crossed paths numerous times at various coffeehouse gigs before settling in Los Angeles to write music together, producing their first two albums Down in L.A. and Weeds. Even though mutual friends in bands such as The Association and Buffalo Springfield also lived in Los Angeles, they left California in 1969, returning to Kansas City, where they made a meager living through playing in college towns. They derived the name of their next album, Tarkio, from a regular gig they played in Tarkio, Missouri. This album was their most commercially successful, featuring the hit "One Toke Over the Line", which they wrote as a joke while preparing backstage for a performance.
Following airplay of the single, President Richard Nixon labeled Brewer & Shipley public miscreants. In retaliation, they referred to Nixon by name in their song, "Oh Mommy," (from Tarkio).
Oddly, the song was performed on The Lawrence Welk Show, a television program known for its conservative, family-oriented bent, by a duo known as "Gail and Dale." At the conclusion of the performance of the song, Welk remarked, without any hint of humor, "There you've heard a modern spiritual by Gail and Dale."
This led Michael Brewer to comment:
"The Vice President of the United States, Spiro Agnew, named us personally as a subversive to American youth, but at exactly the same time Lawrence Welk performed the crazy thing and introduced it as a gospel song. That shows how absurd it really is. Of course, we got more publicity than we could have paid for."
Brewer & Shipley have performed with many notable acts, including Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bruce Springsteen, Black Sabbath, and Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame, who played pedal steel guitar on "Oh, Mommy".
In 1989 they performed a one-off gig and a short time later began writing together again, producing two albums, SHANGHAI (1993) and Heartland (1997). They have continued to tour together, part time, since the '90s. At present, Michael Brewer lives outside of Branson, Missouri. Tom Shipley lives in Rolla, Missouri, where he is on the staff of Missouri University of Science & Technology (formerly the University of Missouri - Rolla). He is manager of distance learning, video, audio, and other special video productions for the university.
Indian Summer
Brewer & Shipley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Summer's leaving
It found me grieving
Living on my own thinking of you
Thinking of you
In the sand
By Rainbow River
Want you again
And I need you all through the night
Ah hold back the Winter Indian Summer
I'm not sure if I can take the snow
In mid December I can't help but wonder
How will I ever last till the coldness goes
Baby I miss you all through the day
Ah hold back the Winter Indian Summer
I'm not sure if I can take the snow
In mid December I can't help but wonder
How will I ever last till the coldness goes
You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
Ah You don't know what it's like
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you
The lyrics to Brewer & Shipley's song Indian Summer express the deep longing and yearning of a person who is separated from their loved one. The song begins with the imagery of summer leaving, which only accentuates the feeling of loss and grief that the singer is experiencing. The singer finds themselves alone, lost in their thoughts about their lover, and they cannot help but think of them, even though they are not there. The lyrics "Thinking of you/In the sand/By Rainbow River/My love did shiver till the fire and I warmed her again" suggest the singer is remembering a romantic moment they had with their lover at a river, where they got cold and the singer had to warm them up again.
The chorus of the song pleads for winter to hold back and for Indian Summer to continue, because the singer is not sure they can bear the cold without their loved one. The lyrics "I'm not sure if I can take the snow/In mid December I can't help but wonder/How will I ever last till the coldness goes" show how the singer feels lost and hopeless without their loved one. The final stanza of the song emphasizes how intense the singer's love for their lover is. They sing, "You don't know what it's like/To love somebody/The way I love you," which implies that this deep love cannot be understood by those who have not experienced it themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
On the wind
The wind is blowing and signaling that summer is ending.
Summer's leaving
The summer season is coming to an end.
It found me grieving
The end of summer has made the singer feel sad.
Living on my own thinking of you
The artist is alone and thinking about someone they miss.
Thinking of you
The artist is consumed by thoughts of the person they miss.
In the sand
The singer is near a sandy area.
By Rainbow River
The singer is by a river with the name Rainbow.
My love did shiver till the fire and I warmed her again
The artist's loved one was cold, but they built a fire to warm them up.
Want you again
The artist wants to be with the person they miss again.
And I need you all through the night
The artist needs the person they miss with them all night long.
Ah hold back the Winter Indian Summer
The singer is asking for Indian Summer to remain and prevent the arrival of winter.
I'm not sure if I can take the snow
The artist is unsure if they can handle the coldness and snow of winter.
In mid December I can't help but wonder
The singer is wondering how they will make it through the winter season.
How will I ever last till the coldness goes
The singer is concerned about how they will survive the coldness of winter.
Baby I miss you all through the day
The singer misses their loved one all day long.
You don't know what it's like
The artist is addressing someone who doesn't understand their feelings.
To love somebody
The artist is talking about their strong feelings of love for someone.
The way I love you
The singer loves the person they miss in a deep and meaningful way.
To love somebody
The singer repeats their message of loving someone strongly.
To love somebody
The artist reinforces the idea of being in love with someone.
The way I love you
The artist again emphasizes the depth of their love for the person they miss.
Contributed by Gavin W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.