With temperatures soaring, it would be an ideal time to prepare a list of summer songs. Interestingly, if one talks of Hindustani classical music, one doesn’t think of any specific summer compositions the way one mentions spring or monsoon raags. Likewise in Hindi film music, there is a long list of barsaat, suhana mausam and thandi hawa tunes, but hardly anything for the hot season. In contrast, English music is filled with songs that use the word ‘summer’ or ‘sun’.
Before getting to the western list, let’s talk of some Indian music that goes well with ‘greeshma ritu’, or summer season. Ideally, the afternoons can be adorned with specific raags. From the Sarang family, we have Shuddh Sarang, Brindabani Sarang, Gaud Sarang, Madhmad Sarang and many rare variants. One can check recordings of vocalists Kishori Amonkar and Pt Bhimsen Joshi for Shuddh Sarang, besides the song Ab Mori Baat by the Anirudh Verma Collective with Bhuvanesh Komkali. For Brindavani Sarang, one may listen to vocalists Pt Venkatesh Kumar and Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty. Both these raags have many Carnatic renditions, created by composers Thyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar, among others. There’s also Amonkar’s bhajan Rasiyo Bulaye in Loor Sarang. If one explores further, one comes across many other gems.
Other perfect afternoon raags include Bhimpalasi (check out santoor maestro Pt Shivkumar Sharma’s recording or vocalist Pandit Jasraj’s Ja Ja Re Apni Mandirwa) and Multani (one can start with sitar renditions by Pt Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan or Pt Nikhil Banerjee). Closer to sunset, vocalist Ustad Amir Khan’s Marwa is perfect. All these raags aren’t restricted to the summer season, of course.
A still from Sooraj Dooba Hai |
Among film songs, one immediately thinks of Jaise Sooraj Ki Garmi Se, composed by Jaidev and sung by the Sharma Brothers in the 1974 film Parinay. This bhajan was also rendered by Anup Jalota. Other songs would be Suraj Hua Maddham, composed by Sandesh Shandilya and sung by Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and Sooraj Dooba Hai, composed by Amaal Malik and sung by Arijit Singh and Aditi Singh Sharma in the 2015 film Roy.
In comparison to Indian songs, the West is filled with summer hits. The reason is simple: in those countries, the summer months come as a relief, specially in areas where the winter is harsh. If one surfs the Net, there are sites which even talk of 250 songs with ‘summer’ in the title.
The classics include the ‘Summer’ movement of 18th century Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and the jazz standard Summertime, composed by George Gershwin in 1934 and sung by numerous artistes. An obvious choice would be the Bryan Adams hit Summer Of 69. And who can forget Cliff Richard’s gem Summer Holiday?
Some pop beauties are In The Summertime, written by Mungo Jerry and popularised by Shaggy, Summer Nights sung by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Grease, Summer Night City by ABBA and the evergreen Summer Wine by Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra. Rock fans would mention Indian Summer by the Doors and Summerday Sands by Jethro Tull, and Eagles admirers would talk of group member Don Henley’s The Boys Of Summer. Among Gen Z favourites, one hears contrasting emotions on Childish Gambino’s Summertime Magic and Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer.
The songs could also have ‘sun’ or ‘sunshine’ in the title. All-time favourites are Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles and Seasons In The Sun. popularised by Terry Jacks and later by Westlife. Sunrise by Norah Jones and Morning Sun by Bad Company could begin the day, before the heat takes over. And if you want to imagine something less likely, check out Cold Day In The Sun by Foo Fighters.
The summer list doesn’t end there. There are songs with references to heat, like The Heat Is On by Glenn Frey, Heat Of The Night by Bryan Adams and Take The Heat Off Me by Boney M. A more accurate emotion is conveyed by Dua Lipa’s Hotter Than Hell, but one would prefer to avoid that and listen to more uplifting songs like Summer Wine and In The Summertime.
