When I was only ten years old, I developed an inexplicable preoccupation with and fear of death while trying to understand the concept of the afterlife. "I Want My Summer Back" is a synopsis of that struggle and my inability to fully enjoy my childhood during the summer of 1990.
lyrics
(Intro)
Yeah
There are certain parts of life
That you wish you could just
Do over...especially when you're young
And you have no idea
That certain moments
They aren't just lost
They've been stolen from you…
(Verse 1)
Picture a friday in the summertime, circa 7:25, sun's about to punch the clock
Kids race, the faster gives the slower one a running start
Girls double-dutching, but their fun is at a sudden stop
Once they hear that Mr. Softee jingle coming up the block
“Momma, momma, can I have a chocolate and vanilla cone?"
“Not until you eat some real food! You know your dinner's cold!"
Everything appears copacetic
But for one little boy, his swollen head is so pathetic, check it
Someone diminished innocence, ain't replenish it
Looking at these kids like, "Who took it? One of you ninjas did!
Your laughter is a clanging in my ears!"
But my anger's misdirected by haranguing all my peers
‘Cause i saw the dude who took it, he looked a tad suspicious
Black hoodie when it's hot enough to fry a batch of chicken
Picked the pocket of a child, must be missing his morality
Robbed me of my youth and replaced it with mortality...
(Chorus)
Unh, I wish that I could run it back
But I was never fast, we've already covered that
The young way I looked at life is never coming back
But dang homie, can't a brother get his summer back?
I want my summer back
I want my summer back
The young way I looked at life is never coming back
But dang homie, can't a brother get his summer back?
(Verse 2)
The vendetta stretches back several years prior
'86 when the astronauts and Bias died getting higher
Thought that taking Uncle Daryl in that accident
Was sure to have the bul imagining, frantic panicking
'89, kids were dying over Pumps and Jordans
Young, black and bloody, only way they'd come report us
Carbon monoxide poisoning, plane crashes
Threw it all at me, wasn't phased, I remained emphatic
But when he came again, showed his ugly face of hazard
Eyes of never-ending fire, skin stained with maggots
Played his ace of spade, knew he would create the habit
In my brain, sane got replaced with 60 days of sadness
Elated camping, at the pool, laying, basking
At the court, making fadeaway baskets, he erased the planning
Surprised I didn't piss my pants half the time
Hard to grasp being alive when you think of death to pass the time...
(Chorus)
Unh, I wish that I could run it back
But I was never fast, we've already covered that
The young way I looked at life is never coming back
But dang homie, can't a brother get his summer back?
I want my summer back
I want my summer back
The young way I looked at life is never coming back
But dang homie, can't a brother get his summer back?
(Verse 3)
Tryna figure this enigma, dying has such a stigma
Finality within fatalities, your body's zipped up
Your memories are ripped up like Terrell Owens
You even conscious of the fact you met your moment? You may never know it
Does the afterlife exist within astounding madness?
Optimistic? Not exactly with these sounds of blackness
The fact is I don't know just what the facts are
All these pressing questions, then I thought, "Why don't I ask God?"
"Lord, when I pass away, what's the feeling like?
Do I simply close my eyes and You reveal the light?
Is Saint Peter really keeper of the gates
With a zillion people waiting for the speaker of your fate?
If I'm nice to Mike, listen to my mom, eat my veggies
Do my homework, stay awake in church, will You let me
See Your mansion I've imagined, maybe stay there for a while?
I'll even draw You pictures every day to make You smile..."
His response, "Well Joe, I can understand your worry
The deepest: will you leave your mother's hand in a hurry?
But fret not, I promise it's painless
What that thief came to steal, I'll make sure it's stainless
You know I have an older Son, and when He had to face death
Wasn't worried or concerned about the day I'd take His breath
He loved as commanded and healed when it was needed
And preached to everybody ‘bout His Father He believed in, so
Be His friend, heed His lead and leave the rest to Me
And you won't have to wait to die for you to rest in peace
But your life, you gotta let it be
You don't have to fear, every task is left to Me to dead the dreaded beast
Tried to steal, but he really caught a loss
Main reason that he ran, in your eyes, he saw the cross..."
And with that, I screamed out, "YEAH FOOL, YOU BETTA RUN!”
YOU CAN HAVE THAT SUMMER, GOD WILL GIVE ME EVEN BETTER ONES!”
(Chorus)
Unh, I wish that I could run it back
But I was never fast, we've already covered that
The young way I looked at life is never coming back
But dang homie, can't a brother get his summer back?
I want my summer back
I want my summer back
The young way I looked at life is never coming back
But dang homie, can't a brother get his summer back?
(Outro)
Yeah
But should I even want it back?
It's gone now
I couldn't get it back if I wanted to
Three months full of beautiful days
Lost forever...but...
I fear death a lot less now
So you can keep that little summer, Jack...
credits
from The Late Bloomer,
released March 31, 2022
Lyrics & music by Joseph Lawrence Goings (BAMMpire Publishing [ASCAP]).
Produced by A.J. Throwback for The BAMMpire.
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Gladiator.
D.C.-born artist A.J. Throwback has produced for The Healacist, Ransom Rellic, Klutch Da Rapper, BRIXX, DH MVJOR, Lady Cee,
Debo Wayne, Mic Mountain, Anaymous Touch & Night Train 357. He has released two mixtapes, two beat tapes, two EPs, and was creator, DJ & co-host w/ Ramsey Brown of 'BARS'. In 2024, he released two R&B instrumental singles, "Something New" & "Fluent in My Language"....more
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