From "Frinck, A Life In The Day Of" And "Summer With Monika" - Prologue

Having Macca produce ‘Summer with Monika’ was the highlight of the exercise.

Roger McGough – Liner notes to CD reissue of McGough & McGear (richieunterberger.com)

“From ‘Frinck, A Life In The Day Of’ And ‘Summer With Monika’ – Prologue” is a track from the 1968 album “McGough & McGear“, by Roger McGough and Mike McCartney – brother of Paul – known professionally as Mike McGear. Paul McCartney helped with the production of the whole album:

Though production was credited to “All of Us,” those duties were in fact shared by several fellows. If his brother Paul was there, Mike recalls, “he would be the producer, ’cause I’d be out on the floor. If our kid didn’t do it, it would be me doing it. I, having been brought up with a musical brother, and having seen so much of what he did, learned a lot myself of what I wanted. If I was in the studio and our kid wasn’t there, Paul Samwell-Smith [later to produce Cat Stevens and Carly Simon] would have helped. He was a great listener, very good producer.“

From Liner notes to CD reissue of McGough & McGear (richieunterberger.com)

Roger’s poems, “Summer with Monika”, take up the rest of side one. Andy Roberts, on guitar, is his main accompanist although other instruments join in. The music fits and complements the poetry, talking to it, commenting on the jokes or just being gently lyrical or satirical in the background. It doesn’t often work, when poets read their own poetry, but it’s always preferable to actors using poetry just to show off their actors’ voices. The thing about Roger’s voice is that it is so unpoetic. He finishes lines flatly and pronounces hair like hur and sounds like a real person. The poems, which form a narrative, are about a real couple spending a real summer in a real house, full of domestic images. It’s sometimes very funny and sometimes very sad.

From the original liner notes, by Hunter Davies

Officially appears on

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.

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