Number One Songs—Turn! Turn! Turn!—To Everything There is a Season
"Pete Seeger, along with the folk missionaries Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays and Odetta, has sung authentic American folk songs for so many years that his own compositions resemble them. He wrote 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' in 1962, basing the text on verses of the third chapter of the Bible's Book of Ecclesiastes; the three 'turn's' of the title are in fact the only non-biblical words [in the song]." —100 Favorite Songs Of Faith, Friendship And Love
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" was originally recorded by Seeger's popular folk group, The Weavers
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" is one of the most famous "socially conscious" songs of the sixties and has been recorded by many performers, including Dolly Parton
To everything
A time to be born, a time to die
To everything
A time to build up, a time to break down
To everything
A time of war, a time of peace To everything
A time to gain, a time to lose
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(which included Seeger, Hays, Fred Hillerman and Ronnie Gilbert), but it was the jingly-jangly guitar sounds—contrasted with sweet harmonies—of The Byrds that made it a #1 hit in 1965, their second #1 after taking Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tamborine Man" to the top of the charts with the same musical formula.
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. It was also prominently featured in the 1994 multi-Academy Award winning motion picture, Forrest Gump.
