Sumer Is Icumen In

Summer Canon/Cuckoo Song

(Middle English “rota” or round, from a 1261-1264 manuscript.)

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LYRICS:

Middle English

Sumer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
and springþ þe wde nu
Sing cuccu

Awe bleteþ after lomb
lhouþ after calue cu
Bulluc sterteþ bucke uerteþ
murie sing cuccu

Cuccu cuccu
Wel singes þu cuccu
ne swik þu nauer nu

Sing cuccu nu, sing cuccu

Modern English

Summer has arrived,
Loudly sing, cuckoo!
The seed is growing
And the meadow is blooming,
And the wood is coming into leaf now,
Sing, cuckoo!

The ewe is bleating after her lamb,
The cow is lowing after her calf,
The bullock is prancing,
The billy-goat farting, [or "The stag cavorting"]
Sing merrily, cuckoo!

Cuckoo, cuckoo,
You sing well, cuckoo,
Never stop now.

Sing, cuckoo, now sing, cuckoo!

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Here is a beautiful rendition of this song by Muco.