Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Encyclopedia
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a song by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen
, from his album Magic
.
Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen's full-throated singing, and a pop-orchestral arrangement, the lyric portrays a series of warm small-town vignettes:
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album, though A. O. Scott
of The New York Times
notes: "Not that 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes' is untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.'" Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger
writes that the song "unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen's vocals, getting progressively more intense."
It was released as a single-like "bundle", which consisted of two audio tracks and an accompanying video, for iTunes
digital download
on January 15, 2008. As such the "Winter Mix" of the song was presented, which featured a single not doubled Springsteen vocal track, some added or enhanced percussion parts, and similar small changes. The release achieved minor chartal success, reaching positions 95 on the Billboard Hot 100
, 67 on the Pop 100
, and 62 on Hot Digital Songs
.
The music video
for the song, similarly entitled the "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)", was directed by Mark Pellington
. Filmed on the Jersey Shore
on a cold winter day, it showed girls and women of various ages, interspersed with shots of Springsteen strumming his vintage Gibson J-45
acoustic guitar. The backing E Street Band
was not portrayed at all. Parts of the video mirrored the song's imagery, especially the diner scene.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was regularly featured on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour
, often as the first encore song, although it suffered being dropped during a number of shows in early portions of 2008. One such first leg of tour performance was recorded an included in the January 2008 digitial download bundle.
In typically delayed fashion, the song garnered two nominations for the Grammy Awards of 2009, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. It won the first, but lost the second to John Mayer
's "Gravity
". Springsteen subsequently confessed that he had not been tracking this closely: "I didn't even know I was up for a Grammy! I opened the newspaper on Monday and saw that I had won, and thought, 'Well, that's great!'"
Although the song's lush pop-orchestral production approach was extended on many of the tracks of Springsteen's 2009 album Working on a Dream
, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was little played on Springsteen and the E Street Band's associated Working on a Dream Tour
.
on their 2009 album Go
.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, from his album Magic
Magic (Bruce Springsteen album)
Magic is the 15th studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 2007 on Columbia Records. It is his first with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002...
.
Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen's full-throated singing, and a pop-orchestral arrangement, the lyric portrays a series of warm small-town vignettes:
- Frankie's Diner, an old friend on the edge of town —
- The neon sign spinning round,
- Like a cross over the lost and found.
- The fluorescent lights flick over Pop's Grill,
- Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?"
- and says, "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill"
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album, though A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
notes: "Not that 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes' is untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.'" Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
writes that the song "unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen's vocals, getting progressively more intense."
It was released as a single-like "bundle", which consisted of two audio tracks and an accompanying video, for iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on January 15, 2008. As such the "Winter Mix" of the song was presented, which featured a single not doubled Springsteen vocal track, some added or enhanced percussion parts, and similar small changes. The release achieved minor chartal success, reaching positions 95 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, 67 on the Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
, and 62 on Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, similarly entitled the "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)", was directed by Mark Pellington
Mark Pellington
-Life and career:Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He directed The Mothman Prophecies, a 2002 film starring Richard Gere dealing with mysterious deaths foretold by a strange red-eyed flying creature, Mothman, as well as Arlington Road in 1999 starring Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges....
. Filmed on the Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore is a term used to refer to both the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities. . The New Jersey State Department of Tourism considers the Shore Region, Greater Atlantic City, and the Southern Shore to be distinct, each having...
on a cold winter day, it showed girls and women of various ages, interspersed with shots of Springsteen strumming his vintage Gibson J-45
Gibson J-45
The Gibson J-45 is an acoustic guitar model manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is part of Gibson's round-shoulder, dreadnought acoustic "jumbo" line, begun in 1934 with the Gibson Jumbo Flattop which was to compete with C.F. Martin & Company's "D" line.The J-45 is generally regarded...
acoustic guitar. The backing E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
was not portrayed at all. Parts of the video mirrored the song's imagery, especially the diner scene.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was regularly featured on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour
Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)
The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.The tour began October 2, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded August 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
, often as the first encore song, although it suffered being dropped during a number of shows in early portions of 2008. One such first leg of tour performance was recorded an included in the January 2008 digitial download bundle.
In typically delayed fashion, the song garnered two nominations for the Grammy Awards of 2009, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. It won the first, but lost the second to John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
's "Gravity
Gravity (John Mayer song)
"Gravity" is a song by American singer-songwriter guitarist John Mayer and is featured on three of his releases: the 2005 live album Try! by the John Mayer Trio, his 2006 studio album Continuum, and his 2008 live album Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles...
". Springsteen subsequently confessed that he had not been tracking this closely: "I didn't even know I was up for a Grammy! I opened the newspaper on Monday and saw that I had won, and thought, 'Well, that's great!'"
Although the song's lush pop-orchestral production approach was extended on many of the tracks of Springsteen's 2009 album Working on a Dream
Working on a Dream
Working on a Dream is the 16th studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released on January 27, 2009 through Columbia Records. It has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, with over 585,000 in the United States as of September 2010.-History:...
, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was little played on Springsteen and the E Street Band's associated Working on a Dream Tour
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009...
.
Track listing
- "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)"
- "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Live)"
Cover versions
The song was recorded by Canadian country band Doc WalkerDoc Walker
Doc Walker is a country music group from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. They have won Canadian Country Music Awards and had radio hits with the songs "I Am Ready" and "The Show is Free" from the 2003 album Everyone Aboard. In 2001 they released the album Curve...
on their 2009 album Go
Go (Doc Walker album)
Go is the sixth studio album by Canadian country music group Doc Walker. It was released on September 8, 2009 by Open Road Recordings and includes the single "Coming Home."-Track listing:...
.