4 Songs About August to Help Get You Through the Waning Summer Weeks

Kiss me hard before you go, summertime sadness, Lana Del Rey begins her 2012 trip-hop hit. Del Rey’s lyrical haziness is useful for the end-of-summer metaphor.

By August, the summer anthems have come and gone, the vacations are over, and kids return to school. It’s not inherently sad, but August is famous for its sweltering heat before autumn brings relief.

However, it isn’t surprising that many songs about August are indeed sad. Taylor Swift has written about how cruel summer can be. (She appears on the list below.)

So, if you’ve got that “Su-su-summertime sadness,” here are four songs about August to help you through the waning summer weeks. Stay cool.

“August” by Taylor Swift from Folklore (2020)

Swift writes about a failing summer romance. The singer described Folklore as “the sun-drenched month of August, sipped away like a bottle of wine.” Regarding symmetry, “August” is track eight, titled after the calendar’s eighth month, on Swift’s eighth studio album. “August” is an episode in a love triangle between the album’s fictional characters. It’s written from the perspective of the other woman. The narrator’s summer love is unrequited because, she says, “You were never mine to lose.”

But I can see us lost in the memory
August slipped away into a moment in time
’Cause it was never mine
And I can see us twisted in bedsheets
August sipped away like a bottle of wine
’Cause you were never mine

“The First Day in August” by Carole King from Rhymes & Reasons (1972)

The song opens with King hoping to share August with a partner she’s slept with “on the last night of July.” Though the lyrics are tender, the piano and King’s warm voice are melancholy. King had already made a break-up masterpiece, Tapestry (1971). That album inspired future songwriters like Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette to tear open the diary and put it to music. The kindness of “The First Day in August” appears tempered by the caution of past failed relationships.

On the first day in August
I want to wake up by your side
After sleeping with you
On the last night in July

In the morning
We’ll catch the sun rising
And we’ll chase it from the mountains
To the bottom of the sea

“Cold Wind in August” by Van Morrison from A Period of Transition (1977)

A Period of Transition disappointed some critics but the soulful album closer “Cold Night in August” is a highlight. The track was co-produced by Dr. John, whose piano playing buoys Morrison’s R&B wailing. The aptly named album marked a transition in Morrison’s late-70s career. He wanted to lower expectations and admitted to not creating his best work under pressure. August is often the turning point of reality setting in after the high expectations and hope of early summer. And Morrison’s August gem beautifully illustrates the feeling of longing.

It was a cold wind in August
Shivers up and down my spine
I was standing in your garden
In the California pine

“August October” by Robin Gibb from Robin’s Reign (1970)

“August October” recalls the sadness of the Bee Gees’ mournful “I Started a Joke.” But Gibb briefly went solo on his 1970 album Robin’s Reign—a baroque pop album beloved by Elton John. “August October” opens with a drum machine, followed by Gibb’s multi-octave voice singing about the unrelenting pain of a broken heart. Psychedelic and theatrical, the tune aims for the sentimental drama of Rodgers and Hammerstein. John covered “August October” in 1970.

Autumn and Friday the winds blew
July, September, I knew you
And now as I sit on the sandhill
I sing our song to the sea

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