SUMMER NIGHTS AT GRANDPA'S

Summer nights at Grandpa's--ain't they soft and still!
Just the curtains rustlin' on the window-sill,
And the wind a-blowin', warm and wet and sweet--
Smellin' like the meadows or the fields of wheat;
Just the bullfrogs pipin' in amongst the grass,
Where the water's shinin' like a lookin'-glass;
Just a dog a-barkin' somewheres up along,
So far off his yelpin' 's like a kind of song.

Summer nights at Grandpa's--hear the crickets sing,
And the water bubblin' down beside the spring;
Hear the cattle chewin' fodder in the shed,
And an owl a-hootin' high up overhead;
Hear the "way-off noises," faint and awful far--
So mixed-up a feller do'n't know what they are--
But so sort er lazy that they seem ter keep
Sayin' over 'n' over, "Sonny, go ter sleep."

Summer nights at Grandpa's--ain't it fun ter lay
In the early mornin' when it's gettin' day--
When the sun is risin' and it's fresh and cool,
And you 're feelin' happy coz there ain't no school?--
When you hear the crowin' as the rooster wakes,
And you think of breakfast and the buckwheat cakes;
Sleepin' in the city's too much fuss and noise;
Summer nights at Grandpa's are the things for boys.