Wheeler and Gavurin were inspired to write the song after several of their friends joined a dating service, and the lyrics reflect on how the pursuit of perfect romantic relationships can become taxing.

"Summertime" became the Sundays' most successful single worldwide, peaking at number 15 in their native United Kingdom and entering the top 50 in Australia and Canada.

In the United States, the song was not eligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time because it was not released as a physical single.

According to band members Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin, the couple wrote "Summertime" after a few of their friends signed up for a dating service.

[1] Gavurin went on to say, "And people can really oppress themselves with that mythic picture of romance, so we just wanted to address in a tongue-in-cheek way that the easily gained perfect partnership is indeed a myth.