This came out in Australia just after my step father died in 1974. I was 17 and I have never been able to listen to it without crying. I therefore seldom sought it out but I never avoided it. I'm crying now as I type but they are not, and never were, bitter tears.
Such a beautiful, powerful and precious little song. The sentimental mood takes you through a range of emotions. I knew Amy would love this. Her reactions echo mine. It shows how music resonates with us on a deep level. Great analysis as usual.
Sentiment, nostalgia, love and loss, this song has it all..even as a kid, i found this an emotive listen, despite being too young to appreciate and understand the nuances.
I was a fifteen year-old cynic when this was released, and I looked down on cheesy songs like this, at least when my fellow Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin fans were around. In private, I found it moving, despite the singalong treatment it was given. I hadn't heard it for a long time until today, and yes, it still brought a tear to my eye. Don't tell anyone, though.
Ive loved this song ever since I heard it the first time as a small kid in the 70s... As said, it just goes straight for the heart. Its so simple, yet covers a whole lifetime somehow.
Beautiful song, and the older I get and the more dear ones I’ve lost in life, the deeper I feel this song. Makes me well up. Beautiful reaction. ❤ God Bless you Amy.
I was 12 when this was a big hit. I'm familiar with the origins of this song (from much later in my life).I'm a big 62 year old guy and this song always brings tears to my eyes. I loved your thoughtful reaction to this. I never thought about the "everyman" quality of rhe vocals before, but now that you've mentioned it, it really enhances the experience of this song. I've always thought Michelle was a girlfriend/lover rather than a child ("my little one" could have been a term of endearment, but either works.
I liked it ever since it floated out of the radio in the 70's. We had a lot of slower speak easy style songs in that era. Me And You And A Dog Named Boo was also a slow story song from that era.
This is from a genre I call Happy/Sad, where the music is upbeat but the lyrics are depressing. Another great one that will make you tap your foot and cry is "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan.
Ah, brings back memories of my childhood and a lost toy... Jim Croce's classic "Time in a Bottle" (especially given the context of his life) might also appeal to you.
When Seasons in the Sun came out, my 10 year old cousin, Michelle, was about to emigrate to Australia. She was my buddy and would often come to our house,. We played out, climbing our own hills and trees, and yes, we skimmed our knees. We listened to this song which felt like it was about us, and we cried.
@firstnamelastname-bu1xm Nope, he mentioned it on several occasions. You can actually hear a lot of similar juxtaposition with light, hopeful, almost childlike chords with dark, ominous, and often angry undertones and follow-up in a lot of Nirvana tracks.
i still have the 45rpm record of this song. i bought when it came out when i was 13. now, 50 years later, it takes on a different meaning as i have seen so many of my close friends and family members pass on. it makes me wonder why i'm still here,but they are not. all the memories of our "seasons in the sun" weigh heavily on my shoulders, to be carried by me until it is my time to go.i'm sure it is hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky,but it's also hard to be here with no one to share in that beauty.
Funny thing about that song was I did Not like that song at al as a kid, and dad used to whistled it around the house. NOW, I love it even though it makes me cry...Dad and Mom are gone, and so is my younger brother and a favorite cousin.....I'm the last one left of the original family.
Back in the early eighties, there was this oldie´s radio station in Mexico City (Radio Universal) that played it. Even as a kid, the song sounded "nostalgic" to me. Thank you Amy for this video, it is a reminder of the power of music.
That first guitar riff sends me straight back to 1974 every single time I hear it. My father listened to this song repeatedly just to focus in on Susan Jacks' beautiful backing vocals.
This song makes me reminisce of time spent with friends and family, and not having a chance to make amends with my father before his passing. I still keep in touch with friends I've had for 50 years and shed the occasional tear for not having the chance to see them for many years due to circumstances in life. Very touching and poignant song, a favorite even with its expressed sadness....
Reminds me of that old Chris Elliott sitcom Get a Life, about a 30 something paperboy who lived with his parents. He went to see a supermodel at an autograph signing. When he finally got to the front of the line, she fell in love at first sight. She asked him, "What's your favorite song?" He said, "Seasons in the Sun." She looked at him lovingly and said, "Mine too."
@johndef5075 👍 Found out his real dad played his dad on the show. His mom was played by Eleanor Donahue from the really old 50s show Father Knows Best.
“Rolling Stone” is nothing but a ridiculous, radical leftist propaganda tabloid disguised as a “music” magazine. Their taste in music is horrid. They aren’t to be taken seriously.
I love this song, but I can't get out of my head the fact that as kids we would sing 'We had joy, we had fun, flicking bogies at the sun, but the sun was so hot, that they melted into snot!' 🙈
As I remember the video was a soldier lay on the Battlefield waiting to die of his injuries from being hurt while fighting in a war. Lovely but sad at the same time. Loving your Chanel Amy. Keep doing it ❤
Can we mark that as NSFW ?! I had to step away to the coffee machine, as I started to recall school friends no longer with us, but who had listened to this song with me when it was originally released. Seasons ... is often called cheesy, but it's bittersweet, nonetheless.
Try this as a double-shot: this song (from 1974) and Gilbert O-Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" from 1972. If you can get through both without tearing up, you must be dead inside.
The lyrics of Brel's original "Le Moribond" are somewhat different, where the dying man reveals to his friend Antoine that he didn't like him much and knows he was having an affair with his wife, and it's killing him to die today knowing Antoine will still be alive.
One of those classic pop songs you love despite your intellectual objections. I remember it so well it is imprinted on my brain (showing my age). I kind of associate with Dawn's 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon' in its sentimentality. You've just got to love it.
This is an English language version of Le Moribond ("The Dying Man") by the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel an artist I encourage you to exolore. Could I suggest you watch the TV performance of him singing Né Me Quitte Pas with English subtitles an emotionally devestating performance which he lives as he sings. Thank you.
I don't know if it has a version with English subtitles but Ces gens-là is Brel at his most expressive on stage. And one song which does have English subtitles and is just sad and beautiful is Les Vieux.
@@MartinPuskin There is indeed a version of ces gens-la live with English subtitles on screen on youtube. Another great song but let's face it virtually Brel's entire body of work is magnificent.
My sister and I used to poke fun at the way this song changes key so often by singing every line higher and higher until we broke down in impossibly high screeching and hysterical laughter. I don't think we listened to the words very much which probably seemed cloyingly sentimental to us not helped by the rather nursery rhyme melody and rhythm of the chorus.
Another song from my childhood that makes me cry when I hear it. I was 7 in '73. I always thought it was relevant since Viet Nam was winding down or had just ended when this came out.
When the song came out, I had to explain to my (older) sister that it was the person singing that was dying, not all the other people he was saying goodbye to. 😂
You should really do some Jacques Brel songs! There are some absolutely heartwrenching ones with English subtitles. Les Vieux, for example (it also exists in English as The Old Folks)
Would you ever consider doing an alternative series/channel where you introduce Classical pieces to a rock audience. As someone who came from popular music first, and more recently classical, jazz, Indian music, gamelan, etc. I would love to hear some of your recommendations, Virgin Rock.
This is one of my Wife's favorite songs. It never clicked with me. I was practically raised on music of that era which had no shortage of melancholy tunes but this piled it on a little much for me. Oh, and get into Steely Dan. That's a really unique "band". They assembled their tunes like playing with Legos. The legos being tracks laid by famous musicians practically competing against each other. Not really a competition perhaps but I bet whoever's track made it onto vinyl wasn't depressed about it. Only two guys actually IN Steely Dan; Becker & Fagan. Personally, I think your head might explode, lol. I'd love to see you pick apart "Peg".
Why is this man dying? The friend he mentions in the first verse has been having an affair with his wife. The love he has for his daughter is not enough to keep him from removing himself from the world that he wasn’t able to endure. Jacques Brel was a truly profound and loving artist who gave compassion and understanding to the most destitute and unnoticed persons and humanizes them.
not to mention that the priest (rather than the farther in this version) counseled the wife during that affair. each verse held some bitterness hidden in it save the daughter.
I think Le Moribond is much the better version of the song. Jacks' version tries so hard to be sad he labours the point embarrassingly, but the original has the sort of humour that only the French can bring :)
@@jmichaelbell5434 Ooh there is much anger in this one. Yes Indeed Jacques Brel was Belgian, but the song was written in French, presumably for a French speaking audience.... Perhaps it's myopic to assume I meant the French people and not the French language :)
Jaques Brel, a singer/song writer who does not fall in the parameters of Amy's channel and mission, his genre is French chanson, nothing close to rock, was a poetry master of covering sadness in 4 minute music format, using everyday common people conversation material. And this is also a trait in much of the French Chanson but Brel was one of the best. This song was played to death on European radio circa 1974, it had such a good radio ring to it. People cheered on it, it sounded uplifting as people paid no attention to the lyrics and only heard "Seasons in the Sun." I fail to hear the intensity that Amy mentions (certainly compared to Brel). To me it sounds like a good hit, for sure, but it does sound like cheap, one hit wonder, bubble gum pop music.
Another artist who covered a number of Jacques Brel songs is Scott Walker. His covers of songs like Amsterdam, The Girls and the Dogs, and (especially) Sons Of are very well and (I think) respect the original material. However, I agree with other comments that you should check our Brel himself.
For context, The Poppy Family was the band Terry Jacks was in with his wife Susan. "There's No Blood In Bone" or "Where Evil Grows" would be great for reaction and analysis.
@@lemmyisking9512 Thanks, "Where Evil Grows" is great, and Susan does a great job on both of these songs. When I had my wife listen to the Beefheart tracks, she fell in love with Amy and said she has to do 'The Poppy Family' and bingo, Terry Jacks a couple of days later...Amy is cooking with fire!
Weirdly, my instant memory of this song is hearing it blasting from a radio at the beach in California back in the 70s. It was a huge hit and was inescapable at the time. The Beach Boys have released their version and it is quite similar, including the tremolo guitar. This song falls into a sub genre of rock that was most popular in the early sixties that involved a dying young person (see “Leader of the Pack”). The Meatloaf songs you listened to a while back (such as “Bat out of Hell”) were a kind of parody of this sub genre.
It’s funny, I’m 67 years old and to this day anyone who would ask me if I had a least favorite song it was Seasons in the sun. I couldn’t stand the chorus. Rock on Amy. I always appreciate your honest opinions but I don’t if I can hang with you on this one.☮️❤️🎧
This song is a translation by Mort shuman. The original was by the Belgian artist Jacques Brel, it's called Le Moribund. Brel is well worth listening to!
Wow, almost a strange one for this channel??? I wore this 45 record OUT! I love this song and SHANNON by Henry Gross. Both were pretty much the only songs the did and are indelibly stamped on my heart
Rod McKuen's translation of Jacques Brel's lyrics is very sanitised, Le Moribund is a much darker song but an accurate version would have received a lot less radio airplay in the UK and the US.
I hope you react also to the original Le Moribond by Jacques Brel. It is in my opinion more impressive. The way Brel is presenting on stage and expressing the song is superb. He serves it to the audience like nobody else. It is raw and rough, still gentle and full of love to the life that is soon gone. My recommendations.
Agree with that. Besides this song there are many other songs by Jacques Brel to comment. He was a singer songwriter with great influence and many of his songs have been covered by many artists worldwide. His stage performance was very impressing. ruclips.net/video/7dENI7urpQo/видео.htmlsi=NepjGyRmZxWAd6A0
the title of the B side is a double entendre. it's really funny when you expect it to be about one thing,but it's about something completely different. poor doggy.
Ahhh, Jaques Brel... It is probably good to be introduced to him through this bastardized version, to get a sense for the sweetness that covers really difficult emotions and situations, since his own "Le Moribond" is much less cheesy. The verses are full of pain and regrets, but also deep appreciation for all the good moments, but the refrains are mocking those joys by throwing gallows humour at the entire concept of life. I sincerely hope you dive into a couple of his other songs, too! May I suggest "Ne me quitte pas", start with some of the cover versions, such as Nina Simone's "If you go away", before moving on to the very close up black and white video of him singing his entire heart out (English subtitles recommended unless fluent in French!). Have tissues available, because it will break your heart... You will probably laugh at "La Valse à mille temps" (The waltz in thousand time), and it would definitely be worth some musical analysis, and perhaps swing by the beautiful testament to true and lasting love in "La Chanson des vieux amants" ("Song of the old lovers"), before ending appropriately with the song that encapsulates the helplessness that is "Voir un Ami pleurer" (To see a friend in tears).
If you want to hear an emotional song like this, I would highly recommend "MY EPITAPH" and "UNDONE IN SORROW" By Ola Belle Reed. She was a real deal bluegrass artist from the appalachian Mountains who played the banjo. She released albums but saw herself as a "amateur".
I was 8 when this charted. I will never not hear, “We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the cops had the guns, so they shot us in the buns.” I promise you, it was hilarious. Maybe you had to be there. And, be an 8 year old boy.
I like quite a bit of Terry Jacks stuff especially when he worked with his then wife Susan Jacks under the name the Poppy Family, a lot of their music has this bitter sweet quality and some of it darker
Such a cheesy pop song but at the same time a secret pleasure. There is a video on RUclips of Jacques Brel signing the original Le Moribond which is worth watching. It is somewhat different and very dark with Jacques spitting out the lyrics.
I'm 63 and this still makes me cry (big sap that I am). Thanks Amy.
Truth
This came out in Australia just after my step father died in 1974. I was 17 and I have never been able to listen to it without crying. I therefore seldom sought it out but I never avoided it. I'm crying now as I type but they are not, and never were, bitter tears.
Loved this song as a kid. Then learned it's meaning. Then my brother died. And now I have a hard time getting through it.
I could not stop listening to this as a 10 year old kid.
🎵 "...since we were 9 or 10..."👍
Such a beautiful, powerful and precious little song. The sentimental mood takes you through a range of emotions. I knew Amy would love this. Her reactions echo mine. It shows how music resonates with us on a deep level. Great analysis as usual.
Sentiment, nostalgia, love and loss, this song has it all..even as a kid, i found this an emotive listen, despite being too young to appreciate and understand the nuances.
I was a fifteen year-old cynic when this was released, and I looked down on cheesy songs like this, at least when my fellow Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin fans were around. In private, I found it moving, despite the singalong treatment it was given. I hadn't heard it for a long time until today, and yes, it still brought a tear to my eye. Don't tell anyone, though.
This is one of the earliest songs that I remember listening to on the radio that tugged at my emotions. Still one of my favorite songs of all time.
Ive loved this song ever since I heard it the first time as a small kid in the 70s... As said, it just goes straight for the heart. Its so simple, yet covers a whole lifetime somehow.
Love that song ❤
Beautiful song, and the older I get and the more dear ones I’ve lost in life, the deeper I feel this song. Makes me well up.
Beautiful reaction. ❤ God Bless you Amy.
This makes me think of Mary Hopkins' Those were the days.
I was 12 when this was a big hit. I'm familiar with the origins of this song (from much later in my life).I'm a big 62 year old guy and this song always brings tears to my eyes. I loved your thoughtful reaction to this. I never thought about the "everyman" quality of rhe vocals before, but now that you've mentioned it, it really enhances the experience of this song. I've always thought Michelle was a girlfriend/lover rather than a child ("my little one" could have been a term of endearment, but either works.
I imagined Michelle as his girlfriend, too, although he leaves it vague enough to be either.
I liked it ever since it floated out of the radio in the 70's.
We had a lot of slower speak easy style songs in that era.
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo was also a slow story song from that era.
You are so interesting in the way you analyse songs, thanks, love watching you do your thing x
This is from a genre I call Happy/Sad, where the music is upbeat but the lyrics are depressing. Another great one that will make you tap your foot and cry is "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan.
❤ thanks Amy this is one of my favorite childhood songs
Ah, brings back memories of my childhood and a lost toy...
Jim Croce's classic "Time in a Bottle" (especially given the context of his life) might also appeal to you.
When Seasons in the Sun came out, my 10 year old cousin, Michelle, was about to emigrate to Australia. She was my buddy and would often come to our house,. We played out, climbing our own hills and trees, and yes, we skimmed our knees. We listened to this song which felt like it was about us, and we cried.
Blew my little mind..."Goodbye my friend it's hard to die...when all the birds are singing in the sky"
One of Cobain's favorite songs.
your jokin! lol
@firstnamelastname-bu1xm Nope, he mentioned it on several occasions. You can actually hear a lot of similar juxtaposition with light, hopeful, almost childlike chords with dark, ominous, and often angry undertones and follow-up in a lot of Nirvana tracks.
@@firstnamelastname-bu1xmNirvana actually did a cover with Cobain on drums, it's great 😂
Cool! I can imagine that.
i still have the 45rpm record of this song. i bought when it came out when i was 13. now, 50 years later, it takes on a different meaning as i have seen so many of my close friends and family members pass on. it makes me wonder why i'm still here,but they are not. all the memories of our "seasons in the sun" weigh heavily on my shoulders, to be carried by me until it is my time to go.i'm sure it is hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky,but it's also hard to be here with no one to share in that beauty.
Not surprised it was a smash hit , it’s got all the ingredients, beautiful words that everyone can relate to Etc etc outstanding!
Nice work, I knew you would like this song 😊. You have a nice vibe
I love your reaction to this song.
A powerful song that seeps into the brain and won't leave.
Well now you're ready for Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey." A perfect companion to this song.
Christ... now THAT is a sad song!!
@@Jamie_E_Pritchard The two songs that introduced the concept of death to me as a child...along with the demise of my dog, Sport.
Funny thing about that song was I did Not like that song at al as a kid, and dad used to whistled it around the house. NOW, I love it even though it makes me cry...Dad and Mom are gone, and so is my younger brother and a favorite cousin.....I'm the last one left of the original family.
Back in the early eighties, there was this oldie´s radio station in Mexico City (Radio Universal) that played it.
Even as a kid, the song sounded "nostalgic" to me.
Thank you Amy for this video, it is a reminder of the power of music.
Wow, this is the very quintessence of Rock! Party on, Vlad.
That first guitar riff sends me straight back to 1974 every single time I hear it. My father listened to this song repeatedly just to focus in on Susan Jacks' beautiful backing vocals.
This song makes me reminisce of time spent with friends and family, and not having a chance to make amends with my father before his passing. I still keep in touch with friends I've had for 50 years and shed the occasional tear for not having the chance to see them for many years due to circumstances in life. Very touching and poignant song, a favorite even with its expressed sadness....
Thank you Amy ❤🎉
Reminds me of that old Chris Elliott sitcom Get a Life, about a 30 something paperboy who lived with his parents. He went to see a supermodel at an autograph signing. When he finally got to the front of the line, she fell in love at first sight. She asked him, "What's your favorite song?" He said, "Seasons in the Sun." She looked at him lovingly and said, "Mine too."
My favorite sitcom of all time! The comic book mail order submarine episode maybe my favorite 😂
@johndef5075 👍 Found out his real dad played his dad on the show. His mom was played by Eleanor Donahue from the really old 50s show Father Knows Best.
Vlad likes giving you stats, he missed that Rolling Stone Magazine Readers’ Poll placed the song on The 10 Worst Songs of the 1970s list.
Screw that magazine
@@robertjones6971 If you were a regular viewer of this channel you would know that RS is cited hundreds of times in the preview paragraphs she reads.
It wasn’t until I was exposed to Brel that I understood why this version always seemed like a cheese&sap sandwich.
Voted on by people with no souls.
“Rolling Stone” is nothing but a ridiculous, radical leftist propaganda tabloid disguised as a “music” magazine. Their taste in music is horrid. They aren’t to be taken seriously.
I love this song, but I can't get out of my head the fact that as kids we would sing 'We had joy, we had fun, flicking bogies at the sun, but the sun was so hot, that they melted into snot!' 🙈
Far better lyrics
Time Stand Still by Rush is another song about reflection on the subject of life from a different perspective.
Life is so short.
Terry Jacks and his wife Susan had a hit with "Which Way Are You Going, Billy" as "The Poppy Family".
They also had a hit with "Where Evil Grows"
About time this one made it onto a reaction / analysis channel (at least that I follow). This song still hits me hard every time I hear it.
One of those songs in the soundtrack of my youth
As I remember the video was a soldier lay on the Battlefield waiting to die of his injuries from being hurt while fighting in a war. Lovely but sad at the same time.
Loving your Chanel Amy.
Keep doing it ❤
Exceptional analysis of this notable song.
Can we mark that as NSFW ?!
I had to step away to the coffee machine, as I started to recall school friends no longer with us, but who had listened to this song with me when it was originally released.
Seasons ... is often called cheesy, but it's bittersweet, nonetheless.
Try this as a double-shot: this song (from 1974) and Gilbert O-Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" from 1972. If you can get through both without tearing up, you must be dead inside.
The lyrics of Brel's original "Le Moribond" are somewhat different, where the dying man reveals to his friend Antoine that he didn't like him much and knows he was having an affair with his wife, and it's killing him to die today knowing Antoine will still be alive.
One of those classic pop songs you love despite your intellectual objections. I remember it so well it is imprinted on my brain (showing my age). I kind of associate with Dawn's 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon' in its sentimentality. You've just got to love it.
Oh, gosh, yes...don't even get me started! lol
Terry Jacks' version plays on the emotions.
Jacques Brel's version is deeply,darkly humorous....
This reminds me of my AM transistor radio that my Grandma bought me. ❤
This is an English language version of Le Moribond ("The Dying Man") by the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel an artist I encourage you to exolore. Could I suggest you watch the TV performance of him singing Né Me Quitte Pas with English subtitles an emotionally devestating performance which he lives as he sings. Thank you.
That has to be one of the most moving performances of all time!
I don't know if it has a version with English subtitles but Ces gens-là is Brel at his most expressive on stage. And one song which does have English subtitles and is just sad and beautiful is Les Vieux.
@@MartinPuskin
There is indeed a version of ces gens-la live with English subtitles on screen on youtube. Another great song but let's face it virtually Brel's entire body of work is magnificent.
QUEEN: MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN
There Le Moribond by Brel with english subtitles: ruclips.net/video/7dENI7urpQo/видео.htmlsi=aN4UiXm6Y6Gu6u2h
My sister and I used to poke fun at the way this song changes key so often by singing every line higher and higher until we broke down in impossibly high screeching and hysterical laughter. I don't think we listened to the words very much which probably seemed cloyingly sentimental to us not helped by the rather nursery rhyme melody and rhythm of the chorus.
Another song from my childhood that makes me cry when I hear it. I was 7 in '73. I always thought it was relevant since Viet Nam was winding down or had just ended when this came out.
I used to really like this as a little kid.
When the song came out, I had to explain to my (older) sister that it was the person singing that was dying, not all the other people he was saying goodbye to. 😂
Did she think he was a serial killer or something? 😅
No, just very unlucky.
You all are not tricking me into hearing that song again, I grew up hearing that thing and you will hum it and be sad for days.
I've always viewed those steps up in key at the end to be indicative of the protagonist's souls going up to Heaven.
You should really do some Jacques Brel songs! There are some absolutely heartwrenching ones with English subtitles. Les Vieux, for example (it also exists in English as The Old Folks)
A very poignant reminder of my childhood in 70's Britain... Where has the time gone.
Would you ever consider doing an alternative series/channel where you introduce Classical pieces to a rock audience. As someone who came from popular music first, and more recently classical, jazz, Indian music, gamelan, etc. I would love to hear some of your recommendations, Virgin Rock.
We used to sing this in school at age 5, along with Yesterday abd Mull of Kintyre. It's just one of those.
This is one of my Wife's favorite songs. It never clicked with me. I was practically raised on music of that era which had no shortage of melancholy tunes but this piled it on a little much for me.
Oh, and get into Steely Dan. That's a really unique "band". They assembled their tunes like playing with Legos. The legos being tracks laid by famous musicians practically competing against each other. Not really a competition perhaps but I bet whoever's track made it onto vinyl wasn't depressed about it.
Only two guys actually IN Steely Dan; Becker & Fagan.
Personally, I think your head might explode, lol.
I'd love to see you pick apart "Peg".
I still have this 45 😂
Why is this man dying? The friend he mentions in the first verse has been having an affair with his wife. The love he has for his daughter is not enough to keep him from removing himself from the world that he wasn’t able to endure.
Jacques Brel was a truly profound and loving artist who gave compassion and understanding to the most destitute and unnoticed persons and humanizes them.
not to mention that the priest (rather than the farther in this version) counseled the wife during that affair. each verse held some bitterness hidden in it save the daughter.
I think Le Moribond is much the better version of the song. Jacks' version tries so hard to be sad he labours the point embarrassingly, but the original has the sort of humour that only the French can bring :)
This explains why the French are not known for their music.
@mayLibertyprevail1a Then we can both thank God that Jacques Brel wasn’t a Frenchman, and that you are so myopic that you just Assume that he was.
@@jmichaelbell5434 Ooh there is much anger in this one. Yes Indeed Jacques Brel was Belgian, but the song was written in French, presumably for a French speaking audience.... Perhaps it's myopic to assume I meant the French people and not the French language :)
I'm not surprised this song polarized your viewers, I like it but many don't.
Jaques Brel, a singer/song writer who does not fall in the parameters of Amy's channel and mission, his genre is French chanson, nothing close to rock, was a poetry master of covering sadness in 4 minute music format, using everyday common people conversation material. And this is also a trait in much of the French Chanson but Brel was one of the best.
This song was played to death on European radio circa 1974, it had such a good radio ring to it. People cheered on it, it sounded uplifting as people paid no attention to the lyrics and only heard "Seasons in the Sun." I fail to hear the intensity that Amy mentions (certainly compared to Brel). To me it sounds like a good hit, for sure, but it does sound like cheap, one hit wonder, bubble gum pop music.
Another artist who covered a number of Jacques Brel songs is Scott Walker. His covers of songs like Amsterdam, The Girls and the Dogs, and (especially) Sons Of are very well and (I think) respect the original material. However, I agree with other comments that you should check our Brel himself.
It reminds me of that episode of Roseanne where Laurie Metcalf was running around the studio audience singing it.
Good evening, the original version is by Jacques Brel, a Belgian singer who had a lot of success in Europe. David Bowie covered Brel's Amsterdam
My wife and I were just saying that you should do The Poppy Family, well, this is a start,...There's No Blood In Bone...your hot streak continues!
For context, The Poppy Family was the band Terry Jacks was in with his wife Susan. "There's No Blood In Bone" or "Where Evil Grows" would be great for reaction and analysis.
@@lemmyisking9512 Thanks, "Where Evil Grows" is great, and Susan does a great job on both of these songs. When I had my wife listen to the Beefheart tracks, she fell in love with Amy and said she has to do 'The Poppy Family' and bingo, Terry Jacks a couple of days later...Amy is cooking with fire!
Weirdly, my instant memory of this song is hearing it blasting from a radio at the beach in California back in the 70s. It was a huge hit and was inescapable at the time. The Beach Boys have released their version and it is quite similar, including the tremolo guitar. This song falls into a sub genre of rock that was most popular in the early sixties that involved a dying young person (see “Leader of the Pack”). The Meatloaf songs you listened to a while back (such as “Bat out of Hell”) were a kind of parody of this sub genre.
Jacques Brel 🖤
It’s funny, I’m 67 years old and to this day anyone who would ask me if I had a least favorite song it was Seasons in the sun. I couldn’t stand the chorus. Rock on Amy. I always appreciate your honest opinions but I don’t if I can hang with you on this one.☮️❤️🎧
This song is a translation by Mort shuman. The original was by the Belgian artist Jacques Brel, it's called Le Moribund. Brel is well worth listening to!
Wow, almost a strange one for this channel??? I wore this 45 record OUT! I love this song and SHANNON by Henry Gross. Both were pretty much the only songs the did and are indelibly stamped on my heart
Going down this topic of music, you need to do Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky".
Rod McKuen's translation of Jacques Brel's lyrics is very sanitised, Le Moribund is a much darker song but an accurate version would have received a lot less radio airplay in the UK and the US.
It's been a while since I've heard this one.
I was a lil kid when this somg came out. Everyone said it was about the Vietnam war. Everyone bought this song (45 of course).
This song always hits me hard
If you liked that one, you would probably also like Afternoon Delight. Groan.
I enjoyed this when I first heard it but it got old fast as my radio station played it heavily for months.
One of the funniest songs ever produced, almost as hilarious as “I Just Called To Say I Love You.”
First blackstone looking at it I see life in the stream below terry bates
I hope you react also to the original Le Moribond by Jacques Brel. It is in my opinion more impressive. The way Brel is presenting on stage and expressing the song is superb. He serves it to the audience like nobody else. It is raw and rough, still gentle and full of love to the life that is soon gone. My recommendations.
Agree with that. Besides this song there are many other songs by Jacques Brel to comment. He was a singer songwriter with great influence and many of his songs have been covered by many artists worldwide. His stage performance was very impressing.
ruclips.net/video/7dENI7urpQo/видео.htmlsi=NepjGyRmZxWAd6A0
You could even say that Brel is out of this world when it comes to interpretation and expressiveness. Noone comes even close.
Absolutely. Not rock, but who cares.
Love this song :)
The b-side is called Put the Bone In. I'll leave that there....
the title of the B side is a double entendre. it's really funny when you expect it to be about one thing,but it's about something completely different. poor doggy.
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes cover might be worth taking a listen to
Ahhh, Jaques Brel... It is probably good to be introduced to him through this bastardized version, to get a sense for the sweetness that covers really difficult emotions and situations, since his own "Le Moribond" is much less cheesy. The verses are full of pain and regrets, but also deep appreciation for all the good moments, but the refrains are mocking those joys by throwing gallows humour at the entire concept of life.
I sincerely hope you dive into a couple of his other songs, too! May I suggest "Ne me quitte pas", start with some of the cover versions, such as Nina Simone's "If you go away", before moving on to the very close up black and white video of him singing his entire heart out (English subtitles recommended unless fluent in French!). Have tissues available, because it will break your heart...
You will probably laugh at "La Valse à mille temps" (The waltz in thousand time), and it would definitely be worth some musical analysis, and perhaps swing by the beautiful testament to true and lasting love in "La Chanson des vieux amants" ("Song of the old lovers"), before ending appropriately with the song that encapsulates the helplessness that is "Voir un Ami pleurer" (To see a friend in tears).
it has good lyrics !
If you want to hear an emotional song like this, I would highly recommend
"MY EPITAPH" and
"UNDONE IN SORROW"
By Ola Belle Reed.
She was a real deal bluegrass artist from the appalachian Mountains who played the banjo.
She released albums but saw herself as a "amateur".
18:37 this reminds me of how A Dog of Flanders has been subtitled "A Christmas Story" despite being so somber
Terry did another Brel cover "If You Go Away" which was even better.
This type of Bubble Gum sentiment was also expressed in "Run, Joey run" by David Geddes.
Great song. Very emotional especially now I'm older
I was 8 when this charted. I will never not hear, “We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the cops had the guns, so they shot us in the buns.” I promise you, it was hilarious. Maybe you had to be there. And, be an 8 year old boy.
Everyone deals with the topic of death in their own way, I guess. 🤪
I don't know how you can laugh, Amy. I'm fighting back tears.
Amy laughs at anything if you notice.
It was performed by the Kingston trio in 1962 or 1963
Moody Blues Tuesday Afternoon and ELP Tarkus
please YES , AND YOU AND I,
I like quite a bit of Terry Jacks stuff especially when he worked with his then wife Susan Jacks under the name the Poppy Family, a lot of their music has this bitter sweet quality and some of it darker
Such a cheesy pop song but at the same time a secret pleasure. There is a video on RUclips of Jacques Brel signing the original Le Moribond which is worth watching. It is somewhat different and very dark with Jacques spitting out the lyrics.
Cool music