What is summertime by Janis Joplin talking about?

Answer 1

Summertime isn't by Janis Joplin, it's a very old song composed by George Gershwin in 1935 for the Opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the book that the opera was based on. In the play, the song is a lullaby sung by a young African American mother to her baby. The songs' creators tried to make it sound like the old African Amercan spirituals or folk songs that would have been song in the American south in the early 20th century where the story was set.

Even before Joplin recorded her version, it was one of the most recorded and popular jazz songs around.