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The Summerhouse Lyrics
Do you remember
The way it used to be
June to September
In a cottage by the sea
Distant cousins, local kids
We climbed every tree together
And it never ever rained
Till we climbed back on the train
That would take us so far away
From the village and the bay
And the summerhouse
Where we found new games to play
Do you remember
Sunday lunch on the lawn
Daring escapes at midnight
And costumeless bathes at dawn.
You were only nine years old
And I was barely ten
It's kind of weird to be back here again
Do you remember
The summerhouse...?
The way it used to be
June to September
In a cottage by the sea
Distant cousins, local kids
We climbed every tree together
And it never ever rained
Till we climbed back on the train
That would take us so far away
From the village and the bay
And the summerhouse
Where we found new games to play
Sunday lunch on the lawn
Daring escapes at midnight
And costumeless bathes at dawn.
You were only nine years old
And I was barely ten
It's kind of weird to be back here again
Do you remember
The summerhouse...?
Song Info
Submitted by
jon On Jan 24, 2002
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This song is a real treat. The album this comes from is loosely the story of two distant cousins meeting up for the first time since childhood. This song is about their reminiscising about how things used to be. It conjures up idyllic pictures of a lost Enid Blyton type world.
The song is about growing up. For most of the time it seems like it's about innocent childhood fun (climbing trees, sunny days, picnics, swimming naked) but the line about 'new games' changes things.
It seems suggestive. 'Found new games to play'. The two young characters have had fun playing kid's games but now they are discovering physical pleasure.
The only thing that makes me hesitate with this interpretation is the characters are so young in the song ('you were only 9 years old and I was barely 10'), but maybe they were precocious? Anyway the song's narrator sees the games as a sign that the boy and the girl were both growing up. And leaving childhood behind.
[Edit: Comment was too long, got rid of repetitive stuff]