Posted by Earth, Wind & Fire released the song September in 1978, and still, decades later, it’s still celebrated by everyone when the month that marks the end of summer arrives. September is the equinox month and the period with the best summer weather, as the hot temperatures get milder. Of course, everybody has their preferences, which is why somebody prefers to celebrate August. However, nobody can deny the beauty of September as fall approaches. This song recreates the melancholic context for the best homage to this month, with its famous line about “dancing in September”: this article will explore the lyrics and their meaning and provide the full lyrics at the end.
You can find the official video of September below.
September: inside the lyrics and their meaning
September is a melancholy song about a love born in this month. The band remembers those magic moments when the protagonists danced together in the night, and “their soul was ringing.”
Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changin’ the minds of pretenders
While chasin’ the clouds away
Our hearts were ringin’
In the key that our souls were singin’
As we danced in the night, remember
How the stars stole the night away, oh, yeah
There was a considerable debate about the choice of the 21st night of September. Many believed it was related precisely to the equinox, which marks the end of summer. However, the band revealed that the choice was just because of how the number 21st sounded in the lyrics: it was just a metric matter.
According to many, the song was inspired by the poem September, written in 1892 by Helen Hunt Jackson. That poem describes the colors and the natural elements that blossom in this month of the year, as Earth, Wind & Fire do:
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancin’ in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
When people try to find the hidden meaning behind the lyrics of September, they have to keep this in mind: Earth, Wind & Fire chose the words and built the lines caring most about how they sounded. That’s why the song also mentions December (it rhymes), and the chorus contains the “ba-dee-ya”: most of those choices were made because… they just sounded right in the song.
My thoughts are with you
Holdin’ hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love, remember
How we knew love was here to stay
Now December
Found the love that we shared in September
After all, September is a song that wants to make you dance with memorable lines, and it’s not strictly necessary that the lyrics have a deep meaning. That’s why the song was so popular, reaching the higher floors of the music charts worldwide and entering the soundtracks of many movies and commercials.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete lyrics
Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changin’ the minds of pretenders
While chasin’ the clouds away
Our hearts were ringin’
In the key that our souls were singin’
As we danced in the night, remember
How the stars stole the night away, oh, yeah
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancin’ in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
My thoughts are with you
Holdin’ hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love, remember
How we knew love was here to stay
Now December
Found the love that we shared in September
Only blue talk and love, remember
The true love we share today
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancin’ in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a—
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), dancin’ in September
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), golden dreams were shiny days
The bell was ringin’, oh, oh
Our souls were singin’
Do you remember never a cloudy day? Yow
There was a
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), dancin’ in September
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), never was a cloudy day
And we’ll say
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (Dee-ya, dee-ya), dancin’ in September
Ba-dee-ya (Dee ya, dee-ya), golden dreams were shiny days
