#OnRepeat: Stevie Wonder's "Summer Soft"

For this Thursday's #OnRepeat post, I have to mention Stevie Wonder, a musician whose music I've always loved yet keep on rediscovering over and over again.  Stevie Wonder is a singer, composer, instrumentalist, performer and arranger who started his early career with Motown and has made innovative, hit songs ever since. Some of his songs that you might be familiar with are "Superstition," "Overjoyed," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," and "Don't You Worry About A Thing" (one of my other personal favorites.

However, the song that I want to talk about today may not be Stevie Wonder song that everyone is familiar with: "Summer Soft". This came from one of his most critically-acclaimed and widely considered signature album, Songs in the Key of Life.  Of course I like the song for the obvious reasons--Stevie's distinctive voice, use of dynamics and his incredible range--but I actually like the song for another reason. The lyrics are filled with so much imagery that if you were just to read them before Stevie Wonder sang them, it would still fill you with an immense amount of passion. For example, the first verse is written below:

"Summer soft... 
Wakes you up with a kiss to start the morning off 
In the midst of herself playing Santa Claus 
She brings gifts through her breeze 

Morning rain... 
Gently plays her rhythms on your window pane 
Giving you no clue of when she plans to change 
To bring rain or sunshine 

And so you wait to see what she'll do 
Is it sun or rain for you 
But it breaks your heart in two 
When you find it's October 

And she's gone 
And she's gone 
Summer's gone 
Taking with her summer's play" 

The lyrics are so playful and yet so full of lament. Is he speaking about a childhood friend? A lost love? You don't know because, even though the lyrics are picturesque, they are still somewhat ambiguous, allowing the listener to draw their own conclusions. This is something that I consider truly creative and I have used this approach in lyric-writing myself. 

Towards the end of the song, Stevie Wonder sings "And she's gone" repeatedly, alternating between mentioning the months of April and October to give an illusion of the cycle of the seasons.  This deepens the feeling of ambiguity, since you almost feel like at some points throughout the song he is actually talking about a person. 

This is truly one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs. It exemplifies all of the aspects of Stevie Wonder that make him the iconic Stevie. His talent in musical composition, his lyric writing, his performance style, his vocal range and improvisational skills. Take a listen below.

I hope this song inspires you to not only listen to more of Stevie Wonder's music, but to also try writing a song or two. If you have any new musicians or groups to check out, please leave a comment below!