Turn! Turn! Turn!
"Turn! Turn! Turn!", also known as or subtitled "To Everything There Is a Season", is a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959.[1] The lyrics – except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the final two lines – consist of the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The song was originally released in 1962 as "To Everything There Is a Season" on the folk group the Limeliters' album Folk Matinee, and then some months later on Seeger's own The Bitter and the Sweet.[2]
The song became an international hit in late 1965 when it was adapted by the American
Lyrics
The lyrics are taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes, as found in the
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
The Biblical text posits there being a time and place for all things: birth and death, killing and healing, sorrow and laughter, war and peace, and so on. The lines are open to myriad interpretations, but Seeger's song presents them as a plea for world peace with the closing line: "a time for peace, I swear it's not too late." This line and the title phrase "Turn! Turn! Turn!" are the only parts of the lyric written by Seeger himself.[2]
In 1999, Seeger arranged for 45% of the songwriting royalties for "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to be donated to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.[6] He kept 50% of the royalties for his own music and took a further 5% for the lyrics because, in Seeger's own words, "[in addition to the music] I did write six words and one more word repeated three times."[6][nb 1] Seeger's handwritten lyrics to the song were among documents donated to New York University by the Communist Party USA in March 2007.[7]
The song is notable for being one of a few instances in
The song was published in illustrated book form by Simon & Schuster in September 2003, with an accompanying CD which contained both Seeger's and the Byrds' recordings of the song. Wendy Anderson Halperin created a set of detailed illustrations for each set of opposites which are reminiscent of mandalas.[8] The book also includes the Ecclesiastes text from the King James version of the Bible.[9]
Renditions
Early folk versions
The song was first released by the
In 1963 Marlene Dietrich recorded "Für alles kommt die Zeit (Glaub', Glaub)", Max Colpet's German translation of the song. Dietrich was backed by a Burt Bacharach conducted studio orchestra, and the song was released as a single.[12][13] Australian folk singer Gary Shearston also recorded a version of the song for his 1964 album Songs of Our Time, with the title "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)".[14]
The Byrds' version
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by the Byrds | ||||
from the album Turn! Turn! Turn! | ||||
B-side | "She Don't Care About Time" | |||
Released | October 1, 1965 | |||
Recorded | September 1, 10 and 14–16, 1965 | |||
Studio | Columbia, Hollywood | |||
Genre | Folk rock, jangle pop | |||
Length | 3:49 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Seeger (words from the Book of Ecclesiastes) | |||
Producer(s) | Terry Melcher | |||
The Byrds singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" on YouTube |
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" was adapted by
In 2001, the 1965 recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[18]
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" had first been arranged by the Byrds'
Music journalist William Ruhlmann has pointed out that the song's plea for peace and tolerance struck a nerve with the American record buying public as the
During 1965 and 1966, the band performed the song on the television programs
The recording has been featured in numerous movies and TV shows, including 1983's Heart Like a Wheel, 1994's Forrest Gump,[30] and 2002's In America.[31][32] Following Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help from My Friends", the song was the first to be played in the initial episode of the television series The Wonder Years.[33] It was also used in a Wonder Years parody, during The Simpsons episode "Three Men and a Comic Book".[34] In 2003, it was used in the closing sequence of the Cold Case episode "A Time to Hate" (Season One, episode 7) and for the closing credits of episode 3 of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's 2017 documentary The Vietnam War.[35]
- Personnel
- Jim McGuinn – 12-string lead guitar, lead vocals
- Gene Clark – tambourine, harmony vocals
- David Crosby – rhythm guitar, harmony vocals
- Chris Hillman – electric bass
- Michael Clarke – drums
Chart history
Weekly charts
- The Byrds
|
Year-end charts
|
Other cover versions
The song has been covered by many other artists:
- The Seekers recorded it in 1966 for their Come the Day album. A video was also recorded for the song.
- Opportunity Knocks in 1968 singing her cover of the song.[46] She recorded it as the B-side to her debut single "Those Were the Days", also in 1968.[47]She also recorded a Welsh-language version of the song: "Tro, tro, tro".
- Nina Simone covered the song on her 1969 album To Love Somebody.
- Scottish singer Sheila Walsh recorded the song in 1983 for her album War of love. It was released that year as a single, produced by Cliff Richard and Craig Pruess.
- Country singer Vern Gosdin covered the song as a duet with Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds) on his 1984 There Is a Season album.
- Dolly Parton recorded it in 1984 for her The Great Pretender album, and again in 2005 for Those Were the Days; on Parton's 2005 recording of the song, she was joined by McGuinn, who played guitar and provided harmony vocals.
- Wilson Phillips covered the song in 2003 on their California album.[49]
- McGuinn, Parton, Marty Stuart, and Kathy Mattea performed the song together in the 2003 movie Our Country.[50]
- Slovak singer Laco Lucenic covered the song in 2004 release Satisfactory.[51]
- Adrienne Camp covered the song in 2006 on her album Don't Wait.
- Chris De Burgh covered the song on his 2008 album Footsteps.
- McGuinn, Emmylou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs cut a new version for the soundtrack and ending credits of the 2014 film, The Song.[52]
- Norwegian singer Kari Rueslåtten covered the song as "Turn, Turn, Turn" and released it as the lead single for her 2015 album To the North. A video was also recorded for the song.
- Resgate (Rescue), a Christian rock band from Brazil, covered the song, in their 2017 album No Seu Quintal (In Your Backyard).[53]
See also
Notes
- ^ In a 2002 interview with Acoustic Guitar magazine, Pete Seeger said, "All around the world, songs are being written that use old public domain material, and I think it's only fair that some of the money from the songs go to the country or place of origin, even though the composer may be long dead or unknown. With 'Turn, Turn, Turn' I wanted to send 45 percent, because [in addition to the music] I did write six words and one more word repeated three times, so I figured I'd keep five percent of the royalties for the words. I was going to send it to London, where I am sure the committee that oversees the use of the King James version exists, and they probably could use a little cash. But then I realized, why not send it to where the words were originally written?"
References
- ISBN 9781933237398.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Turn! Turn! Turn! – Byrds Version". AllMusic. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- ^ a b "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. November 17, 1965. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ "King Solomon's Writings". United Church of God: An International Association. February 17, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ "About the Book of Ecclesiastes – its author, date and purpose". Usefulbible.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- ^ a b Hasson, Nir (November 8, 2009). "Pete Seeger's role in ending Israeli house demolitions". Haaretz. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
- ^ Cohen, Patricia (March 20, 2007). "Communist Party USA Gives Its History to N.Y.U." The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
- ^ TURN! TURN! TURN! | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "TURN! TURN! TURN! by Pete Seeger". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Folk Matinee review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
- ^ "Byrds Compilations". Richard Russell's Byrdmaniax Discography Pages. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ^ "Release, Für alles kommt die Zeit (Glaub', glaub')". Discogs. 1963. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ "45.com Record Details, Für alles kommt die Zeit (Glaub', glaub')". Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ "Gary Shearston – Songs of Our Time". garyshearston.com. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7.
- ISBN 0-7119-7670-8.
- ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#t
- ^ Fricke, David (1996). Turn! Turn! Turn! (1996 CD liner notes).
- ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ Hyde, Bob (1987). Never Before (1989 CD liner notes).
- ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. December 18, 1965. p. 22. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 16, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ Show 33 – Revolt of the Fat Angel: American musicians respond to the British invaders. [Part 1] : UNT Digital Library
- ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ "The Byrds Bootleg CD List". Byrds Flyte. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
- ^ "In America Soundtrack review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
- ^ "The Wonder Years: Music From Each Episode". The Wonder Years fansite. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
- ^ "Mmm...Television: A study of the audience of The Simpsons". The Simpsons Archive. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
- Consequence of Sound. WordPress.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- ^ "Flavour of New Zealand, 30 December 1965". Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 4, 1965
- ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. December 13, 1969. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. October 3, 1970. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 55.
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 27, 1969
- ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- ^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 24, 1966
- ^ "Mary Hopkin biography". BBC. November 19, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "Mary Hopkin - Those Were The Days / Turn Turn Turn". Discogs. 1968. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 55.
- ^ "Wilson Phillips - California". Discogs. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ "Our Country - Soundtrack Credits". IMDb.com. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ "Laco Lučenič – Komplet". Discogs.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- ^ Craig Shelburne (September 17, 2014). ""Turn! Turn! Turn!" Returns in New Feature Film". Cmtedge.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- ^ "No seu quintal • Banda Resgate". Banda Resgate (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved November 25, 2019.