The musical manuscript pictured above is the first portion of Sumer Is Icumen In, a traditional English round (see lyrics below) written in the mid-13th century in celebration of the impending summer season. This graphic offers several advantages leading to its designation as the Official Heck Of A Guy Blog Summer 2006 Symbol:
1. Its antiquity recalls our civilization’s long-abiding rapture with summer – and conveniently places this image squarely in the royalty-free public domain.
2. The graphic is pretty enough and fits the space allotted it. These qualities alone position it in the 97th percentile of all web graphics.
3. It’s just pretentious enough to appeal to me.
4. Sumer Is Icumen In will be a neat counterpoint to the anticipated Official Heck Of A Guy Blog Winter 2006 Poem, Ezra Pound’s Winter Is Icummen In, which opens with
Winter is icummen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm,
and ends
Sing Goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm
Sing Goddamm, sing Goddamm,
DAMM.1
Download Midi File
Sumer Is Icumen In
(Right-click & choose “Save target as”)
Lyrics2
Svmer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
And springþ þe wde nu,
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteþ after lomb,
Lhouþ after calue cu.
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ,
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes þu, cuccu;
Ne swik þu naver nu,
Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu.
Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu!
Modern English Translation
Summer has come in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
Seeds grow and meadows bloom
And the forest springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb,
The Cow lows after the calf.
The bullock jumps, the billy-goat farts,3
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Nor cease you ever now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!
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