I Hate July by Katrina Cain

An unintuitive perspective on the prime month of summer as KC goes traditional country with today's single.

I first heard I Hate July in London in March. It was cold and dark and July felt like a million miles ahead. And now we’re half-way through July, it is school holidays, and where I live we’re in the longest heatwave for half a century. Man, I really hate this July.

I always hate July
So slowly creeping by
And suddenly it ends
And it’s August again

The thing I like most about traditional country songs, which are often a little slower and with a swing to them, is that they showcase the lyrics and storytelling. Whatever you think of July, you might well have changed your mind by the end of this song. Does it feel like the year is running away from you? We’re past half-way now. Have you planned Halloween? Any thoughts about Christmas?

My clothes don’t seem to fit
And I can’t get over it

I can just about remember when we had a different climate. Summer here used to be August, really, the main month of the school holidays. But now it is June that is nice, July is too hot and August is basically autumn. In a world without air conditioning (you guys never can get your head around that!) then anything over 30 degrees is monstrous. Because it always comes with crazy humidity. And 30 here is really 86 in Texas! We have had several days nudging 100 with humidity around 50% or higher.

Maths lesson over. There are more serious matters at hand. We just doubled our stock of fans. To 2. Like I said, no AC except in the cars. Some people have gone for a drive just to cool off.

And this skin don’t feel like mine
There’s way too many lines
I pass the mirrors by
So I don’t see what I look like

I didn’t much like July when I first heard this song, and now I truly hate it. But what is KC’s favourite month? Surely she would hate January too?

Katrina Cain is absolutely brilliant and brings unexpected takes on modern life to the party. She has her own website and is (still reluctantly!) available on Instagram and TikTok. My personal preference is always the email list.