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Decent Quality Since 1847

The Best Worst Song Ever

3/26/2013

40 Comments

 
A while back in his wonderful blog, the much too multi-talented Ken Levine wrote about the worst songs ever recorded. It was an impressive list (or unimpressive, depending on your perspective), in large part because of its excessive length, culled as it was from his years as a DJ on AM pop radio. These were songs that he had not only had had to play, but repeat endlessly. As he later told me, "It was musical waterboarding."

Even among that painful list, one song stood out for me. "Seasons in the Sun," recorded by Terry Jacks. In fact, not only did that the ghastly recording easily deserve to be on the list, it may be my #1 least-favorite song - but not for the reason one would expect, not that it was mindnumbingly insipid and soul crushing in its pap look at death. No, as I explained to Ken, its value in being included transcended even that. As pure songs go, there arguably are worse, but "Seasons in the Sun" has its own special, little-known reason for pure and utter disdain.

This is the tale of that reason, which I told at the time on the Huffington Post.  It deserves repeating, to the point of being etched in stone.

You see, "Seasons in the Sun" is not an original song at all. It's the translation of a brilliant French song by one of the great writers of popular music and lyrics - not just for French songs, but all popular music - and it infuriates me what a horrifically wimpy, pathetic translation they did to it, cementing in the American public's ear what this gem of a song supposedly is.

"They" in this case is Rod McKuen, so the syrupy and pap-laden lyrics shouldn't surprise anyone. The original song, you see, is "Le Moribond," and the writer - for those of you who know the history of popular music, are you ready? - is the brilliant legend, Jacques Brel.

Jacques Brel is lionized in France and much of Europe, and even has a healthy presence in America, largely through the long-running off-Broadway revue of his songs, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and many recordings of his song, "Ne Me Quitte Pas," which was translated here as "If You Go Away." (He himself performs it in the movie version of ...Alive and Well. He also acted, and most notably starred in, directed and did the French adaptation of the musical, Man of La Mancha.

To Rod McKuen's credit, it was he who did the reasonable job translating "If You Go Away." But the hideous job he did with "Le Moribond" erases any bonus points he gets.

The translation of Brel's title, "Le Moribond," is "The Dying Man," and given that the song is Brel, it doesn't have a single ounce of sentiment or treacly whining in it that "Seasons in the Sun" did. It's cynical, wistful, sad, loving, angry, and hilarious, with surprising twists. And hearing Brel sing it in French, even not understanding a single word, you can get most of that from hearing his voice, at times dripping with withering sarcasm, and the pounding rhythm throughout, mostly at the end.

If you didn't block it out too much, or have never heard "Seasons in the Sun," the adaptation is a sing-songy, over-sugary sweet froth about a young kid breathlessly telling us he's going to die, but, "We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun...." And McKuen even adds yet another cloying verse at the end not in the original song.

In "Le Moribond," however, a middle-aged man, with a pounding rhythm and forceful voice is saying goodbye to those he knew in his life. Goodbye to his best friend, goodbye to the priest - to each of them, "I liked you very much. Take care of my wife when I'm gone." And almost in defiance of death, spitting in its face, "I want everyone to sing, dance and act like fools when they put me in the grave." And then in the third verse, the song takes its twist: he says goodbye to Antoine...and suddenly the tone of his voice changes. You can hear the sneer in his voice as he says, "I didn't like you very much." And then, rather than ask Antoine to take care of his wife, he sings, "Since you were her lover, when I was alive, I figure you're going to keep taking care of her when I'm gone anyway." And then the song closes with him saying goodbye to his wife, how much he loved her, even though he kept his eyes closed, like he will be doing now. And the final chorus is more aggressively pounding than ever, more defiant of death than ever, a heavy drum-beat in the background, "I want everyone to sing, dance and act like fools when they put me in the grave!!!!!!!!!" And then suddenly, BAM, the song cuts off.

(Now, add to this that it's possible Brel's original is about a man about to commit suicide.  In fact, from several articles on the song, and knowing the sardonic quality of Brel's work, there are many for whom there's no "possible" about it, but that he is very much writing about a man who is so despondent over the loss of his wife to a lover that he is killing himself.  I'm not completely convinced of that though -- it answers the question how he knows specifically when he's going to die, but not that he sings to his wife so affectionately -- but I like that Brel seems to leave it open to question.)

Compare that to Terry Jacks and Rod McKuen. It makes my blood curdle, since it's through them how most people know this brilliant song of Brel's. As bad as "Seasons in the Sun" is if you don't know the original, it is infinitely gut-wrenchingly worse (and that's saying a lot) if you do.

And now comes the treat you get for sticking around. After all that explanation, here's the proof. While I don't have it in me to post "Season in the Sun" for comparison's sake -- you can find it on YouTube -- here's a video of Jacques Brel himself singing the original version of his song, "Le Moribond," and happily with English translation subtitles.

May it wipe out any memory of "Seasons in the Sun" that might exist in even a corner of a cobweb of you mind. You're welcome.

40 Comments
Walter J. Podrazik link
3/26/2013 11:06:29 am

Thank you for the performance treat at the end!

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michael p John
10/30/2023 05:02:17 am

It maybe a bad song, but to a 15 y/o kid in the mid 70s who dealt with grief it is anything but.

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Robert Elisberg
10/30/2023 11:45:42 am

Michael, thank you for your note. Any creative work that brings pleasure or comfort to others has value for whatever personal reasons. If you're speaking of yourself, I'm glad it did for you.

For all the reasons I wrote in detail, though, it remains my position that it's still a terrible song and awful adaptation of the original it's based on. But it's also good that it was meaningful to some.

Robert Elisberg
3/26/2013 11:22:57 am

Ah, yes, the surprise twist! Glad you appreciated it. It's one thing to say "The original song is totally different. No, really. Honest." It's another to hear it in full and understand from the first pounding beats. It's all the better that it actually has the sub-titles, so you can see and follow-along, but I suspect you can tell how different it is, even if you didn't speak French and have the translation.

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kk
6/21/2014 10:33:17 pm

What a talentless ass... .all the talentless asses who have never created one single talent full creative thing in all their existence... just love to promote their talentless bullish bashing others... vicariously living through those who actually create... who actually have talent... you will take this much further than your grave my friend... perhaps many lifetimes from now... you will stop spewing your disgusting bullshit into the universe ... fuck off -_-

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David link
1/29/2015 09:05:40 am

Why don't you tell us what you REALLY think!

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michael p john
10/30/2023 05:05:18 am

This comment is your typical cookbook rail against nothing. it's feel good comment for someone who really have no life and take its out on someone else. kk is the quintessential LOSER>

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Robert Elisberg
6/22/2014 04:49:51 am

Dear KK, thanks for taking the time to write. I'm sorry that you missed the whole point of the critical but very polite article, but that's okay. You also clearly didn't read the Author's Bio which explains all the actual works that I have, in fact, created. as a member of the Writers Guild of America, Dramatist Guild, as a songwriter in ASCAP, and elsewhere. (The "Product" tab also lists many of the works, including award-winning movies and best-selling novels.) But that's okay, too. You're not required to check any of this out first and are of course entitled to your opinion which you voiced, angrily. Thanks again for your input...
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oscar
1/2/2015 01:50:31 pm

I love seasons in the sun but hater the fact that Terry Jack left. Out the man's requests to defy death by dance ing and laughingstock I would like to point out he committed suicide later so I understand why and hope u do to thanks and P.S you should read Five Flavours of Dumb it a good book

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Robert Elisberg
1/2/2015 03:12:05 pm

Oscar, thanks for your note and taking the time to write. Unfortunately, I personally still hate the adaptation of the richly sardonic and pounding "Le Moribund" into the treacly "Seasons of the Sun." I completely understand why Rod McKuen changed it -- and it was a terrible reason, and the arrangement and recording worsens it for me. If people like it, that's their taste. But it has very little to do with the point and drive of the original Brel song.

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jose
3/18/2015 02:06:11 am

Thanks for the article, I just discovered Jacques brel thanks to beruit... and then I found out it was the same song as seasons in the sun only a non demasculated version...I like seasons in the sun...but this song transcends pop and I hold it up in the company of the greats... Perfectly encapsulates the complexities of the human experience.. Birth dearth love hate

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Robert Elisberg
3/18/2015 08:05:51 am

Dear Jose, Thanks much for your note. I can sort of kind of possibly see people liking "Seasons in the Sun" if they haven't heard the Jacques Brel original song first. (To me, it's still too treacly, but i understand it was a big hit.) But if one heard the original song first, the translation and interpretation just pales. As you note, the original is full of complexities.

jose
3/18/2015 09:46:47 am

And i feel i need to clarify that when say "say i like seasons in the sun" i mean i can listen to it and enjoy it. .. but ...Le moribond! Ive become obsessed. .. I've had it on repeat since yesterday afternoon, fallowing along with the written french with the aim of playing and singing it! Once again i very much enjoyed your article. .. thanks!

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Jean
4/26/2015 05:26:05 am

I thought I was the only one who thought this way. Back in the late 70s our teacher of the French language played us the original version of this song. If Terry Jacks' version comes on the radio I immediately hit the off switch. It is definitely on my worst song list.

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Robert Elisberg
4/26/2015 09:30:24 am

Dear Jean, thanks for your note, and yes, our club widens. As you note, it's not that "Seasons in the Sun" is so treacly" (that's personal taste, after all), but how cloying and awful it is compared to the original.

Side note: The "Seasons in the Sun" translation was done by Rod McKuen. And one of his big hits was the song, "Jean"!!! (It was written for the film, "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.") Happily, and for your sake especially, that's a fairly enjoyable song.

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tracy
10/7/2015 09:45:11 am

Spectacularly missing the point, as did Alan Bloom criticising Bobby Darins cover of Mack the Knife

No, these versions are not angst ridden. No they did not foretell the rise of Hitler or the Holocaust.
Yes the original versions were significant in their own right
But these versions demonstrate American optimism, a quality much sneered by left wing intellectuals

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Robert Elisberg
10/7/2015 11:29:10 am

Tracy, thanks for taking time to write. And I'm impressed how you were able to turn my literary critique into a pointless right-wing sneer. How you were able to get Hitler in there was particularly impressive!

No, I didn't "miss the point." As a professional writer, I know how upset I'd react if someone translated my work and completely changed the meaning. I suspect Jacques Brel felt similarly angry, given his history and body of work, though I can't prove that.

Further, the rewritten and changed song isn't about "American optimism." It's about a guy dying and remembering the past. He's remembering it happily, but he's still freaking dying.

As for liberal intellectuals supposedly sneering at optimism, you *are* aware, I hope that it's liberalism that brought such optimistic changes to America as Social Security for protecting the future, and Medicare, and the FDIC, and child labor laws, and the TVA that brought electricity to rural areas, and affordable health care and so much more. Meanwhile, the right-wing philosophy is based on protecting what they find valuable in the past, while avoiding change for a better future.

Hey, if you like the poorly-translated version of the song, swell. But to draw meaningless and incorrect politics into it, that's way off-base.

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David
10/12/2015 04:05:18 pm

We were required to sing Jack's version in sixth grade. The song always left me with questions as it was very vague. We didn't have the internet back then and I was 11 so I left is as it was. As the years passed this song was vilified for its sappy content. Going through YouTube I came across this song today, I was finally able to get some background that I missed as a child. I have to agree with you. I appreciate Brel's magnificent satiric creation (more so given a lifetime of experiences) which I probably would not of understood 38 years ago. I accept your opinion wholeheartedly.

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Robert Elisberg
10/12/2015 08:07:48 pm

Dear David, thanks for your note and interesting tale. Requiring 11-year-olds to sing the Terry Jacks-Rod McKuen version seems almost like child endangerment. But I'm glad to have helped fill in the details and that you agree. But then, I think it's sort of hard not to...

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Magnus Kesselmark link
11/7/2015 12:57:38 am

Being a fan great fan of Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine, I 'encountered' Season long before Terry Jack dismembered the song totally. However, I notice that neither Top Rapp sticks to the original words, but manage to capture the slightly sarcastic undertone in the texts: Just this verse is, I get it, very Brel-ish, but not original but yet lightyeras from Rod McKuens:
"Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife
When I close my eyes, it’s time I close my mind
I close them before for you without a sound
When I know that the lovers all around
Will be in my bed before under ground."
Besides as Terry Jacks slowly and desperately cuts a great song to pieces, the Swines had gotten the message and kept the song and the dying man alive.

When I heard the Terry Jacks version and noticing my friends great attraction to the tune and loving it, I felt very very very lonely and exhausted. How the ..... could someone massacree my favourite song that badly??!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCnuZQJycFQ

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Robert Elisberg
11/7/2015 05:36:45 pm

Magnus, thanks much for that. How odd -- since it has the same Rod McKuen title and chorus, but the verses are changed. So, I don't know how they got around that. It's most definitely better with the sardonic bitterness of the last verse, though I find it a bit too laconic to love it. But definitely better. And disheartening to read user comments on the YouTube page about how "no one is better than Terry Jacks." Sigh. If only they knew the actual song it was trying to adapt... Thanks again.

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Jens
4/25/2016 07:56:54 am

Wow, I hadn't heard that version before, nor the one mentioned by Marcia further down. While they have more of an edge than the Terry Jacks song, they still aren't as elegant as the original.

Brel lays the groundwork for the ending with the repeated references to "taking care of his wife" at the end of every verse. Leaving out that element takes away most of the punch of the ending. It turns a carefully built-up tension into a mere parade of unconnected episodes.

Having said that, I must admit that I loved the Terry Jacks version as a teenager. I find this, however, to be excusable, since – like most teenagers – I tended to believe at the time that the mere acknowledgment of death and mortality in a piece of pop culture would instantly imbue it with some unspecified deeper level of meaning.

Jens
4/25/2016 08:06:42 am

PS: When I wrote "that version" in the other post, I meant the one by "Pearls before Swine" – I only knew of the French original and the Terry Jacks song.

By the way: The other day I learned that Terry Jacks also did a German-language version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elCRhZe5z1g

Those lyrics are even a bit more kitschy than the English version:

"In the gardens of time, the wine of happiness blossoms.
Live it, live in it, when I am no longer with you."

http://bit.ly/1XS5oSg (Slightly mangled Google translation)

John Napier
1/31/2016 02:13:01 pm

Thanks for writing this. Seasons in the Sun haunted my childhood, till I acquired my first Brel record at the age of 21 and heard Le Moribond. SHOCK. I regularly play the two 'versions' to first year music students, partly as a way of introducing anglophones to Brel, partly to show how a cover can destroy a song, partly because I love playing Le Moribond, and partly to watch them gape as they absorb an emotional nuance they rarely if ever encounter in popular music. I often follow up with Francois' Comme d'Habitude, which of course became "My Way".

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Robert Elisberg
1/31/2016 05:20:12 pm

John, thanks much for your note. That's nothing I can add to it. Your comments mirror my thoughts near-exactly what I wrote about the SHOCK of hearing the original and destructive cover side-by-side. I like hearing about the gasps from your students. I've played "Le Moribond" to people who don't speak French and don't know the dismal cover, and with only a slight introduction can almost get what it's about and being said.

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Marcia Purse link
4/20/2016 11:14:01 pm

You're forgetting one thing - Rod McKuen's *original* version was not treacly at all. It was recorded by the Kingston Trio in the 1960s, and while the version has only 3 verses, the last one does indeed refer to his wife's infidelity in no uncertain terms:

Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife <--- sarcasm
Without you I'd have had a lonely life
You cheated lots of times but then,
I forgave you in the end,
Though your lover was my friend.
Adieu, Francoise, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With your lovers everywhere
Just be careful, I'll be there.

The recording is nothing like Terry Jack's nauseating version.

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Robert Elisberg
4/20/2016 11:28:46 pm

Marcia, thanks a lot for your. To be fair, I'm not forgetting that one thing. That's because I never knew of it. How odd that Rod McKuen would write to versions of the song. And you're right, that Kingston Trio version is FAR superior to the utterly dismal one he did with Terry Jacks. Not as good as the Brel original, but respectable. Though as I note in my article, the criticism is specifically directed at the Terry Jacks song, not that there couldn't ever be a good adaptation of the Brel -- even, as it turns out, by the same translator.

For those interested, here's a link to the Kingston Trio version --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tyhv_rh6Ko
.

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Marcia Purse link
4/25/2016 11:13:38 am

Don't know why I said, "You're forgetting one thing." Sorry. Couple of possibilities for the mealy-mouthed Jacks version: (1) Jacks or his manager wanted something happy, and/or (2) they didn't know if the version referring to infidelity would be allowed on the radio at that time. (Imagine if "My Boyfriend's Back" had said, "He went away, and you hung around and sexually harassed me every night.")

Thinking about it, I couldn't come up with a way to translate "curè" into an English two-syllable word with the accent on the second syllable. And I don't think most, or any, American singers of the time would have accepted lyrics suggesting that the singer's father slept with the singer's wife.

McKuen also made the song less repetitious in English by tailoring the second-to-last line of the verse to each person. I kind of remember, though, that I was a little confused by "though your lover was my friend," since the verse to Émile can't be taken any way but sincerely. I finally decided the lover must've been a different friend.

I also remember being utterly revolted when I heard the Jacks version on the radio. Outraged, in fact, that such a fine song had been bastardized.

One more thing about the Kingston Trio version. I think it showcases the melody, which is **gorgeous**, better than Brel's own version. I only wish they had not broken into harmony at the very end. It's more powerful in unison.

Come to think of it, I remember being really disappointed the next time I heard a song by Rod McKuen. I hadn't understood that Brel wrote the original, and compared to the music of "Seasons in the Sun," I thought McKuen's own melody (the song was "The World I Used to Know") was pretty lame. (Still do.)

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Robert Elisberg
4/25/2016 12:20:24 pm

Marcia, thanks. (And I was largely quipping about the "You're forgetting..." think.) You are admirable for all the intricate effort you are making trying to a) analyze the translations, and b) make sense of the Terry Jacks' version.

By the way, for all the deserved slamming of Rod McKuen adapting Jacque Brel, to be fair he has to get points for a solid job on "Ne Me Quitte Pas" into "If You Go Away."

Robert Elisberg
4/25/2016 08:30:59 am

Jens, thanks for that. (I have an oddity on my screen at the moment, and don't know if this will be posted under your comment and P.S. or not...) I don't know if I have it in me to hear Terry Jacks' version in German, no less. Especially after reading that brief excerpt. We'll see. I'll have to work my spirits up to it. Very funny to read your acknowledgement of liking the Jacks' version when a teenager. But then, there are lots of things we do as a teenager when we slap our heads later and say, "Oh, dear Lord, what was I thinking...??!!"

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Magnus Kesselmark
4/26/2016 09:00:35 am

I simply had to check one important matter up and my worst fears were simply true. I think most of you are from USA or languages speaking English, but I am from Sweden where the native tongue is (surprise!) Swedish.
Once in the 60's to 80's, there was a Swedish hit list where only songs sung in Swedish were allowed - Svensktoppen. That meant that many songs from USA and England were translated into Swedish and perfeomed by Swedish artists. So for instance, This Old House was BIG hit in Sweden back then (39 weeks on the list in 1964-65). How about Seasons In The<Sun??
Well I have never heard any Swedish version but I had to check and YEPP, there it was (deep sigh!). A Swedish so called dance band (a music band specialised in a certain kind of music that is fabricated for dancing, performed by quintettes dressed in terrible pink suits).
The group Vikingarna (Vikings - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikingarna_(band)) made a version that appeared on the album Här Kommer Vikingarna (Here comes the Vikings 1972).
Below you wwill find their version of a Terry Jack's version and to me this is absolutely TOO MUCH. Using the worst possible version and making a Swedish danceband version is like .... no, I won't write that out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNBiDVFIyKk

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Gary Chartier link
12/20/2016 07:02:15 am

Really interesting conversation about the translations and the original. Thanks to everyone who's enriched my understanding in this thread. I grew up listening to the Kingstron Trio version and was entirely unaware of the Jacks version or the Brel original.

I wonder if the curé vanishes simply because of the suspicion that American audiences would find it harder to resonate with the idea of a complicated relationship with a parish priest.

Perhaps Marcia is right that the idea is that Françcoise's affairs didn't involve Émile. But it seems as if the most economical thought is that they did, since, with the omission of Antoine, other friends aren't mentioned. I think this reading adds to the emotional complexity of the narrative: Émile can be both the speaker's best friend and someone who had an affair with Françoise. Hardly unprecedented . . . .

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Robert Elisberg
12/20/2016 07:50:04 am

Gary, thanks for your entry into the discussion, glad you enjoyed hearing the versions. Personally, I suspect the curé was dropped for more prosaic reasons of the era -- not wanting to throw religion into an adaptation that's become basically a love song, or even if you want to shorten it (for a better chance at radio airplay) then that's the first thing to go. As for Émile, I'm willing to use Brel's original as the template and accept the best friend as just the best friend. But.a) hey, who knows? And b) Your thoughts fit in with the basic concept here that Jacques Brel wrote a substantive, complicated song that was mucked up by the saccharine Terry Jacks version.

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Gary Chartier link
12/20/2016 10:27:04 am

I should have been clear that I was responding to Marcia's comment re. the Kingston Trio version. It's that version in which I think we're to imagine that Émile is Françoise's lover; I don't have any reason to think that Brel meant us to think that Émile played this role, which, in his version, is clearly to be filled by Antoine.

Chris Halkides
5/5/2017 11:42:20 am

At songfacts it says that Terry Jacks wrote the last verse, although he did not seek writing credits.

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Robert Elisberg
5/5/2017 12:24:57 pm

Chris, thanks for this. I just checked out the Songfacts page, and it is wildly confusing, which causes me to question at least some of what Terry Jacks says. For starters, he talks about being the person who wrote the adaptation. Then, near the end, the piece mentions how Rod McKuen translated the French lyrics and has credit for the song. Only then does it add that Jacks says he wrote an "entirely different" last verse. It seems odd that he just didn't think of claiming credit, but I suppose it's possible. But this telling also leaves out any mention of the Kingston Trio version, which Rod McKuen wrote.

What I suspect happened is that Jacks didn't "write" it, but may have taken McKuen's version and tweaked some changes and then added his final verse. I question whether he just didn't think of claiming credit, though, and suspect that might have been a legal matter which his explanation avoids getting into. But who knows?

Personally, I wouldn't have claimed credit for it either, though for totally different reasons...

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Magnus Kesselmark
11/2/2017 06:30:12 am

When looking for the best worst song ever, I was looking for the Swedish "version" and couldn't avoid noticing that Westlife had picked up a chainsaw and cuttingmachine to dismember the song yet more.
It's a bit like listening to Miley Cyrus torturing Lilac Wine but far worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdv83MFJd7U

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Robert Elisberg
11/2/2017 12:59:14 pm

Magnus, thanks, yes, that's pretty dismal. Though I think it's made worse because of the overwrought video. On pure vocals alone, I still give the lead to Terry Jacks.

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Magnus Kesselmark
11/2/2017 01:31:10 pm

Got this reply from members of the diyaudio forum when I proposed this song as a horror version for Halloween:
"Unblievablke. Besides being a terrible song to start with!
I didn't realize how bad things could get. I'd not heard the.....blight....before. Wish I hadn't now...talentless paper kittens....turn off the auto-tone-correct and the poor girls fraudulent enchantment would soon turn to disillusionment...one would hope."

"It would make little difference as this type of garbage sells purely on the way the singer/band looks not musical talent , i blame The Beatles for this"

Robert Elisberg
11/2/2017 01:37:13 pm

Ha, though clearly that last was written by someone who doesn't know The Beatles. That's like blaming Beethoven because other people a century later who bad, bombastic symphonies.

I can't tell though if they know the original brilliant song it's rewritten from, which is the real reason it's so dismal...

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    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.

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