June 27, 2014
In the year 1945—almost certainly during the month of June—one of musical theater’s most beloved songwriting teams, Rodgers & Hammerstein, penned the following showstopper for the musical, Carousel:
“June is bustin’ out all over!
All over the meader and the hill…”
Turns out, there’s a good chance these lines were describing the splendor of summer right here in Connecticut.
Richard Rodgers, who had a country house in the state, was so taken with its natural scenery that it inspired him to choose a New England setting for Carousel, based on a play originally set in Budapest.
In fact, the songwriting duo wrote many of their best-known Broadway hits at Rodgers’ Connecticut home.
The charming notion of June bursting into bloom “all over the meader and the hill…” could have described any number of Connecticut haunts, and the tune quickly became one of their most well-recognized.
The song’s memorable chorus describes the “flowers bustin’ out of bushes!… as the roughening river pushes… every little wheel that wheels beside the mill.” The lyrics effortlessly capture the carefree nostalgia of June the way that only vintage roses and old-timey words like “meader” can convey.
With that in mind, let’s relish the natural beauty of Connecticut’s historic gardens, as we get ready to say goodbye to June!
Sing all together now….
“June is busting out all over!
And the ocean is full of Jacks ‘n Jills
With the little tail a-swishin’,
Every lady fish is wishin’,
That someone would come ‘n
grab ‘er by the gills….
June is bustin’ out all over!
And the sheep aren’t sleepin’ anymore
All the rams are chasing ewe-sheep
All determined there’ll be new sheep,
And the ewe-sheep aren’t even keeping score…
Because it’s June!
June! June! June! June!”
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