Terry Jacks hit #1 with “Seasons in the Sun”

Seasons in the Sun Terry Jacks

Writer(s): Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen (see lyrics here) Released: December 1973 First Charted: January 5, 1974 Peak: 13 US, 12 CB, 13 HR, 16 RR, 11 AC, 12 CL, 14 UK, 14 CN, 14Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, -- UK, 14.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 81.70 video, 93.01 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Seasons in the Sun” originated as a French song called “Le Moribond” (“The Dying Man”). It was written in 1961 by Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel. As Terry Jacks explained it, the original version was “about an old man who was dying of a broken heart because his best friend was screwing his wife…He was saying goodbye to his priest and his best friend and his wife…[singing to her] ‘I’ve had a lonely life. You cheated lots of times but then I forgave you in the end, though your lover was my friend.’” SF In 1963, American singer and poet Rod McKuen rewrote the lyrics in English to portray a dying man’s farewell to his loved ones. WK The Kingston Trio recorded it in 1964 and this is the version Jacks heard. He rewrote the song, changing its originally sarcastic tone to a more sentimental one. RC In Jacks’ version, a dying man says goodbye to a childhood friend, his father, and Michelle, who seems to either be a daughter or niece. In 1972, Jacks took the song to a Beach Boys’ session he was involved in. SJ One account says they recorded it but never released it, SJ while Jacks said he could never get all of them together and it never got finished. SF He recorded it himself, but sat on it. When listening to a tape at his house to find songs to release, a newspaper delivery boy heard it. He asked if he could bring his friends over to hear it. Thanks to their enthusiasm, Jacks decided to release it. FB The song is “hated and loved in equal intensity due to its unashamed sentimentality.” TB In a CNN poll in 2006, it ranked as one of the worst songs ever recorded. WK That didn’t bother fans, though. Jacks’ version went to #1 in more than a dozen countries and was ranked the #2 song of 1974 by Billboard. It was the first song to be given a gold certification by the RIAA for sales of a million copies SF and became the biggest-selling single in Canadian history. SF The song also has the distinction of being the first record Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain ever bought and the band even covered the song. TB The British boy band Westlife recorded the song in 1999 and took it to the top of the UK charts. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Terry Jacks FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 358. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 505-6. SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 200. SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 145. WK Wikipedia First posted 2/13/2021; last updated 4/23/2024.