The Lovin' Spoonful had their only number one with this edgy reflection of the contrast between days and nights during an urban heatwave. It features actual sounds of traffic and jackhammers taken from 48th street in Manhattan, drum echoes in a stairwell, and a trippy staccato bridge. 'Summer in the City' started with John Sebastian's little brother Mark, who wrote the refrain about summer nights while in prep school. John sped it up and added the verses and the sound effects, while bassist Steve Boone added the instrumental interlude and descending bass line. Sebastian used a Wurlitzer pianette for the distinctive riff, "I was going for the scary, minor chord, hit-the-road-Jack chord sequence that doesn't warn you of what's coming in the chorus." John says the song spoke to that time in August when "the heat was more than you could bear, everyone was walking around practically nude and you're at your most Floridian for two weeks."
Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city
All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head
But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright
And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city
Cool town, evening in the city
Dressing so fine and looking so pretty
Cool cat, looking for a kitty
Gonna look in every corner of the city
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop
But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright
And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city
Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city
All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head
But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright
And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city
