Songs of Will T. Massey — “A Summertime Graveyard”

Will hadn’t even written this song before he went into the studio to record his MCA album. They included it as a simple acoustic track almost on a whim.

It became one of his most memorable songs, inspiring people around the world. In the video below, he tells the story of a couple who had their wedding rings engraved with the initials derived from the chorus.

In the summertime,
The graveyard is the coolest place to be.
I know the names on all the graves
Beneath the widest white oak tree.
Mr. Ferguson’s lady,
She left town with April in air.
The last of her roses have blown away now
And the weeds look lonely there.
Mr. & Mrs. Martinez,
They have crosses side by side
In the shadow of the Smith monument,
Pink granite, tall & wide.
Thompson is the youngest here,
Last autumn brought her name.
And beneath it reads the passage,
“The seasons pass, but love remains.”

Time will take the golden leaves
Before the fall is through.
I’d love to make some memories with you.

I fell asleep out here last Saturday
I woke up with the sun going down,
Climbed up in the white oak
And looked out on the lights of town.
And the hospital windows
Were the color of a harvest moon.
As darkness closed around them,
I watched the delivery room.
And I pictured some young Romeo
As the nurse stood there in the frame.
She held a newborn baby
And I wondered about his name.
And I wondered when the seasons
Would carve his name in stone.
And I wondered if he’d spend
His summertimes alone.

Time will take the golden leaves
Before the fall is through.
I’d love to make some memories with you.

I guess my favorite conversations
Are with those who are asleep.
They take me in their dreams
And I listen to them weep.
And when the morning is a painter
With a lighter shade of blue,
They turn their eyes to me
And then they fade from view.

Time will take the golden leaves
Before the fall is through.
I’d love to make some memories with you.