Candidate #1
“Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks
Seasons in the Sun was a number 1 single for Terry Jacks in 1974.
Originally written and recorded by Jacques Brel, the Belgian folk singer, in 1961, the lyrics were translated into English (from French) by American poet Rod McKuen. The song is a goodbye from a dying man to relatives and friends. The original French version included references to his wife's infidelity though these are often omitted from the English version. It is quite probably the saddest song ever recorded. Below are some links to various versions of the song; see if you don’t agree.
Terry Jacks (1974)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxdOy-dtBfQ&feature=related
Jacques Brel (1961)
“Le Moribond”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jl-R2NhUiI&feature=related
The Beach Boys (1973)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzjIra9pheU&feature=related
Nirvana (2004)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO4BF67pvsc
Massively successful Irish boy band. (Yea, I've never heard of them either).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf31kyAb3ZI&feature=related
Final Verse
Goodbye, Michelle, it's hard to die
when all the bird are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
With the flowers ev'rywhere.
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 starfishs on the beach.
How could you leave out Bobby Goldsboro's Honey!
ReplyDeleteSee the tree, how big it's grown
But friend it hasn't been too long
It wasn't big
I laughed at her and she got mad
The first day that she planted it, was just a twig
Then the first snow came
And she ran out to brush the snow away
So it wouldn't die
Came runnin' in all excited
Slipped and almost hurt herself
And I laughed till I cried
She was always young at heart
Kinda dumb and kinda smart and I loved her so
And I surprised her with a puppy
Kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago
And it would sure embarrass her
When I came in from workin' late
'Cause I would know
That she'd been sittin' there and cryin'
Over some sad and silly late, late show
And honey, I miss you
And I'm bein' good
And I'd love to be with you
If only I could
She wrecked the car and she was sad
And so afraid that I'd be mad
But what the heck
Though I pretended hard to be
Guess you could say she saw through me
And hugged my neck
I came home unexpectedly
And caught her cryin' needlessly
In the middle of the day
And it was in the early Spring
When flowers bloom and robins sing
She went away
And honey, I miss you
And I'm bein' good
And I'd love to be with you
If only I could
One day while I was not at home
While she was there and all alone
The angels came
Now all I have is memories of Honey
And I wake up nights and call her name
Now my life's an empty stage
Where Honey lived and Honey played
And love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead
And cries down on the flower bed
That Honey loved
And see the tree how big it's grown
But friend it hasn't been too long
It wasn't big
And I laughed at her and she got mad
The first day that she planted it, was just a twig
Thank you Neal. Well worth consideration. I especially like rhyming "what the heck" with "squeezed my neck". By the way this is an ongoing consideration of sad songs, no ranking has been assigned yet.
ReplyDelete