Happy Easter!
It’s SLS time again and Jim Adams picked a great range of topics this week – Seasons/Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall. If you want to read the rules of the challenge, join in, or check out all the other great song picks, head to Jim’s blog “A Unique Title For Me“.
I picked a song by a fellow Canadian, Terry Jacks, called “Seasons In The Sun”. There is a great history to this song. It was originally a French song, written by Belgian singer/poet Jacques Brel. American singer/songwriter, Rod McKuen, brought the song to North America and translated it. The original song was called “Le Moribond” (The Dying Man) and recorded by Brel in 1961. It was about a man who died of a broken heart because his wife cheated on him with his best friend. The Kingston Trio recorded McKuen’s English version.
In 1974, Terry Jacks took the song and made it his own with different lyrics and a different meaning. His song was dedicated to a friend who passed away 3 months after being diagnosed with cancer. He kept the style and some of the melody of the original song. There is a lot of speculation that Jack’s version is also about a cheating wife; however, having been to a few Poppy Family or Terry Jacks concerts and hearing him explain, I think I will take his word for it.
There is another interesting twist to Jack’s version. He recorded it with his then wife and partner in “The Poppy Family”; however, he had originally recorded it with the Beach Boys, believing their harmonies were perfect for the song. Terry was producing the song but Brian Wilson would grab the tape and change things to his sound to the point where the engineer would have to take it home every night. Jacks finally got frustrated and left the project.
I am including some of the English translation by McKuen from Brel’s original as the lyrics are very different from the Jacks’ version. You can sing along to the melody of the verse and they fit perfectly!
“Seasons In The Sun” went to number one on the Billboard top 100, Canadian RPM Top singles, and the UK top singles. It also made it to number one (Canada) and number two (US) on the year-end charts. Not bad for a song about dying.
Oh, another interesting fact. The video is of Jacks performing the song on a French TV show!
Lydia
SEASONS IN THE SUN
We’ve known each other since we’re nine or ten
Together we’ve climbed hills or trees
Learned of love and ABCs
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees
Goodbye my friend, it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the Spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
Think of me and I’ll be there
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed
Were just seasons out of time
Goodbye Papa, please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along
Goodbye Papa, it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the Spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them I’ll be there
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons, have all gone. x 2
Goodbye Michelle, my little one
You gave me love and helped me find the sun
Every time that I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground
Goodbye Michelle, it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the Spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach
Were just starfish on the beach.
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons, have all gone
All our lives, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed
Were just seasons out of time
Being Lydia! 
Nice song Lydia and I had learned about Jacques Brel when I wrote about a song that Nina Simone sang called ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’.
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Oh, I love that one as well. Actually anything by Nina Simone, English or French. Terry Jacks did another Brel/Mckuen song “If You Go Away” which I also love.
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From another fellow Canadian: I remember this song and I just love his voice!
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Yes, he does. The only thing is they did such sad songs “Which Way You Going Billy”, If You Go Away”, this one and more.
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A big hit for us young ones back in the day… still love it!
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I love this song, but it’s so sad! Thanks for the background information, too! 😉
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You are welcome. I enjoy researching songs.
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That’s such an exceptionally nice memory from my first couple years in high school
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I am glad you enjoyed it.
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I never heard about this song before but it is a pretty decent listen. Thanks for the share!
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Thanks. Yes, it was a surprise hit considering it’s subject matter!
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We had this record when I was young. A 45. Those little records. I remember listening to it many times over and over again! Thank for the cool background information Lydia!😊
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My pleasure! I love it when a topic comes up with a song that means something to me.
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This was my first ‘grown up song I fell in love with during early elementary school. Thanks for bringing back memories.
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You are welcome. It came out when I was in high school and I remember skating to it and dancing to it!
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