Indian summer

An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in

The late 19th-century lexicographer Albert Matthews made an exhaustive search of early American literature in an attempt to discover who coined the expression.[4] The earliest reference he found dated to 1851. He also found the phrase in a letter written in England in 1778, but discounted that as a coincidental use of the phrase.

Later research showed that the earliest known reference to Indian summer in its current sense occurs in an essay written in the United States around 1778 by J. Hector St. John de Crevecœur, describing the character of autumn and implying the common usage of the expression

Great rains at last replenish the springs, the brooks, the swamp and impregnate the earth. Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer. This is in general the invariable rule: winter is not said properly to begin until those few moderate days & the raising of the water has announced it to Man.

The essay was first published in French around 1788, but remained unavailable in the United States until the 1920s.^[5]

Although the exact origins of the term are uncertain,^[6] it was perhaps so-called because it was first noted in regions inhabited by Native Americans, or because the natives first described it to Europeans,^[7] or it had been based on the warm and hazy conditions in autumn when Native Americans hunted.^[6] John James Audubon wrote about "The Indian Summer that extraordinary phenomenon of North America" in his journal on November 20, 1820. He mentions the "constant Smoky atmosphere" and how the smoke irritates his eyes. Audubon suspects that the condition of the air was caused by "Indians, firing the Prairies of the West". Audubon also mentions in many other places in his writings the reliance Native Americans had on fire. At no point does Audubon relate an Indian summer to warm temperatures during the cold seasons.

Because the warm weather is not a permanent gift, a connection has been made to the pejorative term Indian giver.^[8] Native-American legends mention the god or "Life-Giver" bestowing warm autumnal weather to various warriors or peoples, enabling them to survive after great misfortune, such as loss of crops.^[9][10]

Usage

Weather historian William R. Deedler wrote that "Indian summer" can be defined as "any spell of warm, quiet, hazy weather that may occur in October or November", though he noted that he "was surprised to read that Indian summers have been given credit for warm spells as late as December and January". Deedler also noted that some writers use Indian summer in reference to the weather in only New England, "while others have stated it happens over most of the United States, even along the Pacific coast".^[3]

In literature and history, the term is sometimes used metaphorically. The title of Van Wyck Brooks' New England: Indian Summer (1940) suggests an era of inconsistency, infertility, and depleted capabilities, a period of seemingly robust strength that is only an imitation of an earlier season of actual strength.^[11] William Dean Howells' 1886 novel Indian Summer uses the term to mean a time when one may recover some of the happiness of youth. The main character, jilted as a young man, leads a solitary life until he rediscovers romance in early middle age.

In

In the English translation of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, the term is used to describe the unseasonably warm weather leading up to the October Revolution.^[15]

Other names and similar phenomena

Similar weather conditions with local variations also exist. A warm period in autumn is called Altweibersommer ("old women's summer") in Germany,

In media

This article may contain irrelevant references to popular culture. Please remove the content or add citations to reliable and independent sources. (December 2021)

Board games

• Indian Summer, designed by Uwe Rosenberg, is named and themed after the event, and involves players placing leaf-filled tiles on the forest floor.

Books

• An Indian Summer: A Personal Experience of India was written by James Cameron in 1974.
• Engine Summer written by John Crowley in 1979, is named after and refers to the event, with the spelling changed to reflect the post-apocalyptic setting of the book.
• Indian Summer by John Knowles, published in 1966.
• Indian Summer was written by Adalbert Stifter in 1857.
• Indian Summer was written by William Dean Howells in 1886.
• Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire was written by Alex von Tunzelmann in 2007.
• Indian Summer: The Tragic Story of Louis Francis Sockalexis, the First Native American in Major League Baseball was written by Brian McDonald in 2003.
• The graphic novel Indian Summer was written by Hugo Pratt and illustrated by Milo Manara in 1983.
• The Indian Summer Of English Chivalry written by Arthur Ferguson in 1960.

Comics

• Indian Summer, Hugo Pratt,
  Nantier Beall Minoustchine
  , October 1, 1993.
• Injun Summer, John T. McCutcheon, Chicago Tribune, September 30, 1907.

Music

• The Victor Herbert piano solo with this title dates to 1919.^[23] It received an Al Dubin lyric in the 1930s and was recorded by several pop singers and dance bands.
• In 1945 Coleman Hawkins recorded a jazz version of the Victor Herbert/Al Dubin tune on tenor sax.
• In 1966 The Doors recorded their original song "Indian Summer" (Morrison/Krieger), which was released on their 1970 album Morrison Hotel.
• In 1969, Brewer & Shipley recorded their own song "Indian Summer", for the Weeds album.
• In 1975, Joe Dassin recorded the song "Indian Summer" in French, English, Spanish and German. "L'Été indien" was based on the song "Africa" by Toto Cutugno, hence the subtitle "L'Été indien (Africa)" on some single releases. It went on to become Dassin's biggest hit, selling almost 2 million copies worldwide. Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood released an English language cover of the song as a single in 1976.
• In 1977 Poco released the album Indian Summer, which contained the title track written by Paul Cotton.
• Jay Ferguson's 1977 song "Thunder Island" contains the passage "She was the color of the Indian Summer".
• In 1978 Joe Walsh recorded his song "Indian Summer" for the album But Seriously, Folks....
• In 1981 Al Stewart released his song "Indian Summer" on his first live album Live/Indian Summer.
• In 1983
  Belle Stars
  album.
• In 1983 Per Gessle released an instrumental song called "Indiansommar" (Swedish for Indian summer) on his self-titled debut album.
• In 1984, U2 included "Indian Summer Sky" on their The Unforgettable Fire album.
• In 1985 Larry Gatlin and Barry Gibb wrote their song "Indian Summer", which was released on the Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers album Smile (1985), as performed by Larry, Barry and Roy Orbison.
• In 1985, Channel 3 (band) included "Indian Summer" on their Last Time I Drank album.
• In 1987 the band Opal released their version of The Doors song on the Chemical Imbalance Limited Edition 45 (#003).
• In 1987 The Dream Academy recorded their song "Indian Summer" for the album Remembrance Days.
• In 1988, Beat Happening released the Calvin Johnson penned "Indian Summer" on their album Jamboree.
• In 1992 Go West released an album called Indian Summer.
• In 1992 the Victor Herbert/Al Dubin tune was recorded by Tony Bennett for his Frank Sinatra tribute album, Perfectly Frank.
• In 1992, The Rippingtons released "Indian Summer" as the fourth track on their album Weekend in Monaco.
• In 1993, Paul Westerberg released "First Glimmer," a song that references an Indian Summer.
• In 1993 Luna released their version of the Beat Happening song on their EP Slide.
• In 1993, the emo band Indian Summer was formed in Oakland, California. They disbanded in 1994.
• In 2002 Pedro the Lion released the David Bazan penned "Indian Summer" on their album Control.
• In 2004 Carbon Leaf released a collection of all-original songs on their album, Indian Summer released on Vanguard Records.
• In 2004 Tori Amos recorded her song "Indian Summer" for the EP Scarlet's Hidden Treasures.
• In 2007 Ben Gibbard's version of the "Beat Happening" song was included on the Kurt Cobain About a Son: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack.
• In 2007 classical composer Pyarelal Sharma wrote Indian Summer: 8 Enchanting Pieces for String Quartet.
• In 2007 jazz musician Dave Brubeck released his first solo piano album in 50 years on Telark, called "Indian Summer", after his version of the title song by Victor Herbert and Al Dubin.
• In 2007 Manic Street Preachers released their song "Indian Summer" as the third single released from their album Send Away the Tigers.
• In 2009 country duo
  Brooks and Dunn released their own "Indian Summer", as the lead single to their fifth greatest hits package, #1s… and Then Some
  .
• In 2009, Mandy Moore released the album Amanda Leigh which includes the song "Indian Summer" that she co-wrote with Mike Viola and Inara George.
• In 2010 Australian record producer Gabriel Gleeson began releasing electronic music and performing under the name Indian Summer.^[24]
• In 2011 Loaded (sometimes called Duff McKagan's Loaded) released their song "Indian Summer" on the album called The Taking.
• In 2013 Stereophonics released the Kelly Jones penned "Indian Summer", as the second single from their album Graffiti on the Train.
• In 2014 Tyler Hilton released the album Indian Summer, containing his self-penned title track.
• In 2015 Jai Wolf released his debut single "Indian Summer" on the Foreign Family Collective label.^[25]
• In 2018 Dutch singer Sharon den Adel released the song Indian Summer under her My Indigo project.
• In 2020 No Germ Candy released their version of the Beat Happening as a b-side to the Straight Talk single.^[26]
• Katy Perry's 2009 song "Thinking of You" contains the passage "You're like an Indian summer in the middle of a winter".
• Other jazz versions based on the
  Send in the Clowns
  1974).
• Sidney Bechet recorded a jazz version of the Victor Herbert/Al Dubin tune on soprano sax in 1940.
• The Glenn Miller Big Band Orchestra version of Victor Herbert and Al Dubin's tune with vocalist Ray Eberle, rose to number 8 from late 1939 into 1940.
• The Victor Herbert/Al Dubin tune was a number 1 hit for Tommy Dorsey's Big Band Orchestra with Jack Leonard on vocals in 1939.
• The Victor Herbert/Al Dubin tune was recorded by Frank Sinatra on his album with Duke Ellington, Francis A, and Edward K., in 1968.
• Victor Herbert composed the song "Indian Summer" in 1919 for classical orchestra and Al Dubin wrote lyrics in 1939.

Painting

In 1875 Józef Chełmoński painted a picture Indian Summer with a wide landscape panorama.

In 1922

• Alma Luz Villanueva wrote "Indian Summer Ritual".
• Barry Middleton wrote "Indian Summer".
• Dorothy Parker wrote her own "Indian Summer".
• Emily Dickinson wrote some 20 poems about Indian Summer, including "These Are the Days When Birds Come Back", "The Gentian Weaves Her Fringes" and "There Is a June When Corn Is Cut"^[27]
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha (1855) mentions "the tender Indian Summer"
• Jayanta Mahapatra wrote "Indian Summer".
• Kate Harrington wrote "Legend of the Indian Summer".
• Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote "Our Indian Summer".
• Robert William Service
  wrote "My Indian Summer".
• Vachel Lindsay wrote "An Indian Summer Day on the Prairie".
• William Wilfred Campbell's poem "Indian Summer".

See also

• Blackberry winter
• Velvet season

References