What is it about something that makes it feel like summer? Why do we associate certain songs and books with this season over others? There’s a million different answers to this but here are a few.
In the natural world, it is the season of life, abundance, flowering, vibrance and energy. On a sensory level, we think of heat, brightness, the feeling of sweat on our skin, visions of blue skies and lapping waves, the sounds of birdsong and laughter, the scent of thick humid air laced with sea salt or pollen.
Historically, it was the season of work, where people would work long days to reap the seasons crops and harvest. In art forms, this season has been used as a metaphor for a number of themes, chiefly among them to symbolise maturity and the peak in the human life cycle. Each of the choices in this Summer Collection embodies one or more of these traits of summer.
‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’ by Lana Del Rey
Speaking in a radio interview, Lana Del Rey said that each of her albums explore and reflect her ever evolving relationship to Americana and the American Dream. These themes have been central to her music and persona since the beginning of her career over 15 years ago. Norman Fucking Rockwell, her 6th studio album, is no different. Within each song there is a soundscape that transports the listener to her glamorous, and yet imperfect, version of California.
In true Lana style, this album demonstrather unique capacity for storytelling, whether that be lyrical, musical, sensory or through production. Lana’s songwriting meets Jack Antonoff’s talent for production on this record. The sensory descriptions in the lyrics pair with acoustic textures of wind, seagulls and wave breaks to create an atmosphere of faded Hollywood glamour set to a coastal background.
The title alludes to the painter, Norman Rockwell, fames for his portrayal of 20th century American culture. This album, released in 2019, saw the final days of Donald Trump’s first term as president of the United States, a time during which the American dream and the ideals surrounding it had been thrown into question by many Americans. The word ‘fucking’ in the title implies a sarcasm and disillusionment, but not outright rejection, towards these ideas that she had come to associate much of her image and music with.
The American dream acts a kind of metaphor in this album. It can be seen to represent a kind of stability and comfort, one which she chases throughout this album. However, despite her hope to find this stability in the arms of a romantic lover, she finds herself constantly disappointed. This can be compared to the disillusionment she has with the American dream, considering the state of American politics at the time she made it.
Considering all of this, the perspective she emerges with at the end of the album is one of hope and willingness to choose happiness in spite of her cynicism, hurt, confusion and loss of faith that can be felt throughout.
Through its evocation of this stylised Californian nostalgia, it’s appeals to our senses and presiding message of hope in spite of it all, NFR builds a world that feels like summer.
‘Running Along the Beach’ by Joaquin Sorolla
Known as the ‘master of light’, Sorolla perfectly captures the beauty and magic of a coastal scene draped in dying summer sun in this painting. ‘Running Along the Beach’ is a painting filled with joy, innocence and vitality. The children playing and chasing each other seem to glow in the light of the setting sun. The shades of periwinkle, lilac, navy and midnight blue create the rippling waves while the energy of the piece can be felt from the brushstrokes he uses to depict the turbulent waves. He also creates movement in the painting through the ripples in the girls’ dresses as they run along the shore. The warmth that saturates the whole composition can be felt on from the glow on the children’s faces and skin, the burnt yellow of the sand and the tapestry of sparkling colours reflected in the restless sea.
None of this was by accident. Sorolla had studied and worked tirelessly throughout his career to perfect his techniques of representing light on canvas. These techniques, alongside his fascination with the old masters and Impressionists and his adoration of his native Spain, meant he became known for his spectacular representations of sunlight shining on intimate, fleeting moments in the lives of local Spanish people. His home, Valencia, Spain, provided the painter with endless source of inspiration throughout his life and career.
The connection to Summer in this painting is obvious. From its subject matter to the senses it evokes in the viewer, the pure joy and freedom radiating from this painting represents a feeling we all aspire to at this time of year.
‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)’ by Peter Sarstedt
This 1969 hit by British singer Peter Sarstedt tells the story of the singers childhood friend and the lavish life she leads as a Parisian socialite. With its many references throughout, from topless swimsuits to Zizi Jeanmaire, this song has become a musical time capsule of 60s pop culture iconography.
But as the song goes on, it is revealed that her background is far from this luxury, as the singer reminds her of their childhood spent ‘in the back streets of Naples’. With this perspective, the rhetorical question in the title and each chorus becomes a reflection on the meaning of her lifestyle and whether or not she is truly fulfilled.
As listeners, we are left unsure of whether they are close, but there is no tone of judgment in the song. Instead there is one of care and love for her, and longing to be let in to her inner life and thoughts.
Musically, the song is light and upbeat, featuring an accordion that bookends the song. Between its instrumentation, references to stylish beach resorts along the Riviera, and the overall vibrance of Marie Claire’s life, this is a fun song to enjoy in the summertime.
‘Iniskeen Road: July Evening’ by Patrick Kavanagh
As people pass him by along a secluded country road, the speaker reflects on his role within this society and landscape. This is a poem about isolation, social conformity and finding (or forging) a sense of belonging. He watches on as his peers cycle past him in groups on their way to a local dance. It’s not clear whether the speaker was not invited or whether he has elected not to go. But it is clear that, as he watches on, he is inspired to contemplate what his relationship is to these people and his role within this society. By extension, he is led to question what that means about his own values and identity. In the second and final section of the poem, he concludes that he feels most at home and most powerful when in nature, surrounded by ‘banks and stones and every blooming thing’.
From the outset of this poem, the speaker establishes his own individualism. He is his own person, while everyone else belongs to ‘groups of twos and threes’. In the middle section of this poem, he makes clear his feelings of being an outsider and subtly his wish to be a part of it.
However, the final lines reflect the speakers acceptance of both his nature as a poet and his place on the fringes of society. Among the ‘blooming’ summer around him, he finds solace, belonging and an acceptance of his identity in the surrounding nature.
‘Bonjour Tristesse’ by Françoise Sagan
Set over the course of a single summer, this novel’s setting is completely at odds with its angst and, at times, disturbing psychological plot. Along the French Riviera during the ‘50s, a teenage girl, Cecile, wrestles with the (perceived) threat her father’s new fiancé poses to her life as she knows it. Her father’s new partner, Ann, is sophisticated and mature, but comes to embody, in Cecile’s mind, the loss of their indulgent, devil-may-care lifestyle.
What follows is a story that paints a vivid picture of a young woman confronted with change, responsibility and the consequences of her own actions. It is an unconventional coming-of-age book that explores the recklessness of youth through Cecile’s resistance to the rules and reality Ann brings to the villa.
In spite of Cecile’s pursuit of a life of simplicity and pleasure, this character is far from simplistic. The serene setting of summer in the south of France directly juxtaposes the novels depth and complexity. Sagan takes us deep into the mind of her main character, exploring morality and agency.
As summer reads go, it is not a light, easy read as the setting might suggest. It’s moody, full of self-exploration, curiosity, melancholy, jealousy, and ultimately, tragedy. Yes, its premise lends itself to evoking the atmospheric, hazy, beautiful feeling of summer, making it an enjoyable read for this time of year. But this novel also serves as a metaphor for summer, coming-of-age and the prime of life. If, in art forms, summer is used to symbolise the reaching of maturity and the peak of the human life cycle, the season in which the novel is set acts as a reinforcement of the things Cecile so vehemently rejects throughout the book; maturity, advancing adulthood, personal responsibility, and impending change.
I hope each of the recommendations in this Summer Collection helps to enhance this summer. Whether it be full of life and energy, slow and thoughtful or just good fun, summer is a time to enjoy. And what better way to do that than to dive head first into art that exemplifies all the best parts of this season!
If you enjoyed this, you might also like the Spring Collection:
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