Turn! Turn! Turn!

The lyrics are taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes, as found in the King James Version of the Bible, () though the sequence of the words was rearranged for the song. Ecclesiastes is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, who would have written it in the 10th century BC, though modern scholarship dates its composition much later, up to the third century BC: 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. 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." The song is notable for being one of a few instances in popular music in which a large portion of the Bible is set to music, other examples being the Melodians' (and Boney M's) "Rivers of Babylon", Sister Janet Mead's "The Lord's Prayer", U2's "40", Sinéad O'Connor's "Psalm 33" and Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer". Since Ecclesiastes is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon in the 10th century BC, the Byrds' 1965 recording of the song holds the distinction in the U.S. of being the number 1 hit with the oldest lyrics. The song was published in illustrated book form by Simon & Schuster in September 2003, with an accompanying CD that 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 that are reminiscent of mandalas. The book also includes the Ecclesiastes text from the King James version of the Bible. ==Renditions==

Early folk versions The song was first released by the folk group the Limeliters on their 1962 album Folk Matinee, under the title "To Everything There Is a Season". The Limeliters' version predated the release of Seeger's own version by several months. One of the Limeliters' backing musicians at this time was Jim McGuinn (a.k.a. Roger McGuinn), who would later record the song with his band the Byrds and, prior to that, arrange the song for folk singer Judy Collins on her 1963 album Judy Collins 3. 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. The Byrds' version }} "Turn! Turn! Turn!" was adapted by the Byrds in a folk rock arrangement and released as a single by Columbia Records on October 1, 1965. The song was also included on the band's second album, Turn! Turn! Turn!, which was released on December 6, 1965. The B-side of the single was band member Gene Clark's original composition "She Don't Care About Time". "Turn! Turn! Turn!" had first been arranged by the Byrds' lead guitarist Jim McGuinn in a chamber-folk style during sessions for Judy Collins' 1963 album Judy Collins 3. The idea of reviving the song came to McGuinn during the Byrds' July 1965 tour of the American Midwest, when his future wife, Dolores, requested the tune on the Byrds' tour bus. The rendering that McGuinn dutifully played came out sounding not like a folk song but more like a rock/folk hybrid, perfectly in keeping with the Byrds' status as pioneers of the folk rock genre. 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 Vietnam War escalated. Cash Box described it as a "tip-top version" of Seeger's original and said that the Byrds read "the lyrical folk item in an appropriate emotion-packed style." Pete Seeger expressed his approval of the Byrds' rendering of the song. During 1965 and 1966, the band performed the song on the television programs Hollywood A Go-Go, Shindig!, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Where the Action Is, as well as in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. Additionally, the song would go on to become a staple of the Byrds' live concert repertoire, until their final disbandment in 1973. The song was also performed live by a re-formed line-up of the Byrds featuring Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman in January 1989. In addition to its appearance on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, the song also appears on several Byrds compilations, including ''The Byrds' Greatest Hits, History of The Byrds, The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1, The Byrds, 20 Essential Tracks From The Boxed Set: 1965-1990, The Very Best of The Byrds, The Essential Byrds and There Is a Season''. and 2002's In America. 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. It was also used in a Wonder Years parody, during The Simpsons episode "Three Men and a Comic Book". 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. ;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 ;Judy Collins Year-end charts ==Certifications==

Other cover versions The song has been covered by many other artists: • Mary Hopkin won the television talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1968 singing her cover of the song. She recorded it as the B-side to her debut single, "Those Were the Days", also in 1968. She also recorded a Welsh-language version of the song: "Tro, tro, tro". • Judy Collins covered the song in 1963. Her version was reissued as a single in 1969. It became a Top 40 hit in Canada and on the U.S. Easy Listening chart. • McGuinn, Emmylou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs cut a new version for the soundtrack and ending credits of the 2014 film The Song. ==See also==