Partyin' Like It's 1299

For all you that went to Potomac from 4th grade to 6th, you may remember this. For those who didn't, you're going to think I'm odder than I already am.

Since about Thursday, and I don't know why, I've had this song stuck in my head:



It's an Olde English song that the English of old would sing for May Day to welcome in the summer; "Sumer Is Icumen In" means "Summer Has Come In". Hard to believe that the language we speak nowadays came from that. There are obviously some similarities, but they also differ significantly.

I won't bore you with too much history, but this is believed to be the first song that was sung in a round (channel your elementary school music classes to remember what that is) so that's cool. Listening to this on repeat earlier today made me realize something: if you lived during that period, there's a pretty good chance that was the only song you knew outside of what you heard in Church. Kinda strange to think about. When one's life consisted of tending to the fields and barely being cleaner than your livestock, I can't imagine exposure to a variety of music was commonplace.

Maybe this is the dork in me talking, but I guess the reason that I've enjoyed this short Wessex jingle so much is while I walk down the street, humming "Sumer Is Icumen In", I'd like to think I'm sharing that experience with some simple peasant who did the very same thing eight centuries ago. While I wander past a McDonald's, he might have gone by a butcher shop instead so clearly times have changed (although the meat may be equally as questionable), we still find a sense of comfort in the joy of a brief melody that reminds us of brighter days.

Not to mention, another reason I like it is because one of the line translates to "The bullock stirs, the stag farts." Sheer poetry.