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I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And all trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go
I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in
I had me a man in summertime
He had summer-colored skin
And not another girl in town
My darling's heart could win
But when the leaves fell on the ground
And bully winds came around pushed them face down in the snow
He got the urge for going and I had to let him go
He got the urge for going
When the meadow grass was turning brown
And summertime was falling down and winter was closing in
Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going and they've got the wings so they can go
They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in
I'll ply the fire with kindling and pull the blankets to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and I'll bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going so I guess she'll have to go
She get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And all her empires are falling down
And winter's closing in
And I get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And summertime is falling down
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And all trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go
I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in
I had me a man in summertime
He had summer-colored skin
And not another girl in town
My darling's heart could win
But when the leaves fell on the ground
And bully winds came around pushed them face down in the snow
He got the urge for going and I had to let him go
He got the urge for going
When the meadow grass was turning brown
And summertime was falling down and winter was closing in
Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going and they've got the wings so they can go
They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in
I'll ply the fire with kindling and pull the blankets to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and I'll bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going so I guess she'll have to go
She get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And all her empires are falling down
And winter's closing in
And I get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And summertime is falling down
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It gets damn cold up in the northern plains of North America when fall comes on. The weather can change very quickly. Big cold systems dip down and it 's Game Over for summer. One night it freezes and overnight all the bugs are gone. The little birds slip away unobtrusively in small flocks but the big waterfowl raft up noisily in marshes and fields sometimes there are tens of thousands of them. They are looking to places well beyond the horizon. You can feel their restlessness and yearning. It's an ancient earth process and we all feel it. The days are getting shorter and everyone's hormones switch modes. We all feel urges.
The birds fly off southward and we are left behind to hunker down and endure yet another winter here on the ground. It's hard not to feel a little dejected and earthbound.
Summer loves end. Summer lovers leave. Right when you really want someone to hold you and keep you warm, you may find yourself alone. Right when our bodies really want to be making babies for next summer when the living will be easy. There are so many songs about men leaving women at summer's end (think 'I Dreamed A Dream' from Les Miserables). In truth sometimes women leave too.
Winter's closing in. It really does feel like that when you live at high latitude, as Joni did in her formative years. We don't exactly fear death and famine in winter as our ancestors once did, but we know it's going to be a long slog 'til spring and summer come again. All our modern human behavior is played out against an emotional backdrop colored by the way our brainstems respond to daylength and the way our pituitary glands respond to temperature. It's an ancient earth process and we all feel it.
That's what this song is a about. In a beautifully poetic way, because Joni Mitchell. 💕