Rhythm guitarist Dave Pritchard, bass guitarist Greg Masters and drummer Roger Spencer were the core of a band initally known as Billy King and the Nightriders, then later known as Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders and briefly as just The Nightriders.
In 1966 they advertised for a new guitarist/vocalist, Jeff Lynne applied and joined the band. After releasing one single they changed their name to Idle Race. Under Jeff Lynne's leadership they released two albums that sold poorly, despite support from John Peel and Kenny Everett.
In 1970, Jeff Lynne decided to join The Move so he and Roy Wood could work on what would eventually become Electric Light Orchestra
The remaining members of The Idle Race recruited 2 new members and released one further album. After Greg Masters left the group they became The Steve Gibbons Band.
In The Summertime
The Idle Race Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the weather is high
You can stretch right up
And touch the sky
When the weather's fine
You got women
You got women on your mind,
Go and see what you can find
If her daddy's rich
Take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor
Just do what you feel
Swim along the lane
Go to town on eternal twenty five,
When the sun goes down
You can make it, make it good
And really fine
With her bare feet
Well her daddy we'll amaze
We love everybody
But we do as we please
When the weathers fine
We go fishing or go swimming in the sea,
We're always happy
Life's for living and that's our philosophy
Sing along with us
Yeah we're ha-ha-ppy
When the Winter's here
Yeah it's party time
Bring your bottles wear your rattles
It'll soon be Summertime
And we'll see ya again,
We'll go driving or maybe we'll settle down,
If she's free sure she's nice
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town
In the Summertime
Yeah we're ha-ha-ppy
The Idle Race's song "In The Summertime" is a cheerful tune that epitomizes summertime escapades. The lyrics capture the carefree spirit of the season, with lines like "When the weather is high/You can stretch right up/And touch the sky" painting a picture of the exhilaration summer brings. The song's message is about living life to the fullest and enjoying everything that summer has to offer.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of having women on the mind during the summer. The lines "You got women/You got women on your mind" and "If her daddy's rich/Take her out for a meal/If her daddy's poor/Just do what you feel" suggest the excitement and freedom of summertime romance.
The chorus of the song, "In the Summertime/Yeah we're ha-ha-ppy" reinforces the overall message of joy and happiness that the season brings. The song's upbeat and catchy melody further adds to the exuberant mood.
Overall, "In The Summertime" is a lighthearted celebration of summer's pleasures, from swimming in the sea to living life freely and without worry.
Line by Line Meaning
In the Summertime
During the summer
When the weather is high
When the weather is good/hot
You can stretch right up
You can reach high
And touch the sky
And touch the sky
When the weather's fine
When the weather is good/hot
You got women
You have women
You got women on your mind
You are thinking of women
Have a drink, have a drive
Drink and drive
Go and see what you can find
Explore and find new things
If her daddy's rich
If her dad is rich
Take her out for a meal
Take her out to eat
If her daddy's poor
If her dad is poor
Just do what you feel
Just do what you want
Swim along the lane
Swim in the designated area
Go to town on eternal twenty five
Drive on a certain road
When the sun goes down
When it gets dark
You can make it, make it good
You can make it good
And really fine
And really fine
With her bare feet
Without shoes on
Well her daddy we'll amaze
Her dad will be amazed
We love everybody
We love everyone
But we do as we please
We do what we want
When the weathers fine
When the weather is good/hot
We go fishing or go swimming in the sea
We swim or fish in the ocean
We're always happy
We are always happy
Life's for living and that's our philosophy
We believe that life is for living
Sing along with us
Sing with us
Yeah we're ha-ha-ppy
Yeah, we're happy
When the Winter's here
During the winter
Yeah it's party time
It's time to party
Bring your bottles wear your rattles
Bring drinks and noise makers
It'll soon be Summertime
Summer will come soon
And we'll see ya again
We will see you again
We'll go driving or maybe we'll settle down
We will go for a drive or maybe relax
If she's free sure she's nice
If she is single and nice
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town
Bring your friends and we will go to town together
In the Summertime
During the summer
Yeah we're ha-ha-ppy
Yeah, we are happy
Contributed by Zoe V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.