Seasons In The Sun – Terry Jacks 1974

Posted by admin on March 29th, 2010 and filed under the sun | 25 Comments »

Seasons in the Sun” was a worldwide hit song for Terry Jacks in 1974. It was first released in the United States and Canada early in the year, and rose to number one in America by March 2. An earlier recording appeared on The Kingston Trio’s 1963 album, Time to Think. The song had also been done by English band The Fortunes in 1968, and by Pearls Before Swine in 1970/71.

The song was based on “Le Moribond” (“The Dying Man”), written by Jacques Brel in 1961. Brel’s song was translated into English by poet Rod McKuen and this version was first recorded by Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio, but it did not sell. The Beach Boys also recorded the song but it was never released.

Terry Jacks, who had participated in the Beach Boys recording, and who had in fact introduced the song to the group, rewrote part of the lyrics to “lighten them up.” Jacks’ revisions tended to add a bit of ambiguity as to the nature of the storyteller’s demise, allowing listeners the option to choose whether the death is from suicide over a failed life – quite possibly to escape drug addiction – or someone accepting death from natural causes, or cancer. References to a cheating wife were also removed.

Duration : 0:3:26


[youtube cd_Fdly3rX8]

25 Responses

  1. otis1988 Says:

    haha thats funny …
    haha thats funny shit

  2. jacqueline5103 Says:

    This is amazing, by …
    This is amazing, by far Id say too.

  3. feuille2niggle Says:

    by the way, the …
    by the way, the original song was in french, untitled “Le moribond” by Jaques Brel. You may discover it on youtube too ;)

  4. McDjB1 Says:

    I think this is the …
    I think this is the best cover version of “Le Moribond”, captures all of Brel’s sentiment :)

  5. cyphrinfinity Says:

    @MrLeverwurstboy – …
    @MrLeverwurstboy – you are so right!!!

  6. cyphrinfinity Says:

    @ gasp402 – same …
    @ gasp402 – same here. true to live lots of feeling in this song!!!!

  7. MrJonk1969 Says:

    lol…i passed one …
    lol…i passed one of those earlier this month

  8. MrLeberwurstboy Says:

    this is one of the …
    this is one of the best songs of the world

  9. 00InuyashaLovers00 Says:

    Terry Jacks was in …
    Terry Jacks was in Jail, and he was going to die, thats why he made this song.

  10. lachivisermosa Says:

    This song is the …
    This song is the Best!!!

  11. johnnyleesteele Says:

    SEASONS IN THE SUN: …
    SEASONS IN THE SUN: A much more beautiful version::

    Goodbye to you my kidney stone
    The pain you gave me made me moan
    I did not think that I would scream
    But you brought me to my knee
    And it hurt me when I peed.
    Goodbye small rock you knocked me out
    Your final exit made me shout
    You saw me pass out on the bed
    And you thought that I was dead
    Cause my face was turning Red
    Watch me scream watch me cry
    You will see me want to die
    But the pain is all gone
    Mr Granite said “So Long”

  12. Beachman212 Says:

    Goodbye, Granpa, …
    Goodbye, Granpa, please pray for me,
    The county will not pass to our family.
    You tried to teach us right from wrong.
    Not much God and too much gone,
    wonder how we got along.

  13. Beachman212 Says:

    Goodbye to you, my …
    Goodbye to you, my freedom land.
    We’ve been a free country since way back when.
    Together we climbed beaches and trees.
    Learned of love and ABC’s,
    skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
    Goodbye my Land, why must you die,
    when all the birds are singing in the sky,
    With the smell of tea in the air,
    People protest everywhere.-
    When you see them I’ll be there.
    We had joy, we had pride, we had reasons our men died.
    But the hills that we climbed
    were for reasons back in time.

  14. jasmine8297 Says:

    NICE SONG……..
    NICE SONG……..

  15. rocknrollfolds Says:

    this song is like a …
    this song is like a bizarro le moribond

  16. iwtbxbroken Says:

    dedicated to my …
    dedicated to my freind andrew koenig

  17. currypot1965 Says:

    Good muslim song,we …
    Good muslim song,we sing in the mosque.

  18. tryithere Says:

    Actually this song …
    Actually this song is about 3 1/2 minutes.

  19. sairally Says:

    reminds me of ma …
    reminds me of ma skul deyz

  20. mavekeal Says:

    this song was no.1 …
    this song was no.1 when i was born and guess what – my name is michelle !

  21. Tehstickfig Says:

    @DDD1968dd lol
    @DDD1968dd lol

  22. Bradley62100 Says:

    To Edwin from cub …
    To Edwin from cub scouts to Halloween
    2009 gone but never forgotten see you when I get there my brother

  23. marstix1 Says:

    This song reminds …
    This song reminds me of my father, which I miss so much! I dedicate this to his memory.

  24. TheShadowwolf666 Says:

    a good song
    a good song

  25. SquirrelOnRoad Says:

    Wow, I love this …
    Wow, I love this song. So glad to have found it here.

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