Seasons in the Sun

This song is originally a French song titled “Le Moribond” written by Jacques Brel in 1961. It was then translated into English by Rod McKuen in 1964 called Seasons in the Sun. It wasn’t much of a hit until Terry Jacks recorded it. He had the permission for changing part of the song to lighten it up (source).

I found three different versions: McKuen, Jacks, and Westlife. All three are posted below. There is also a vietnamese version. A male singer sang that awhile ago but I don’t know who sang it. In PBN 82, 6 young singers sang the song in Viet/English. It’s more upbeat so I really like it.

Click here to listen to the song (Westlife’s version)

Author: Rod McKuen

Adieu, Emile, my trusted friend,
we’ve known each other since we were nine or ten.
Together we climbed hills and trees,
learned of love and A B Cs,
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
Adieu, Emile, it’s hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky. Now
that the Spring is in the air
Pretty girls are ev’rywhere.
Think of me and I’ll be there.

Chorus:
We had joy. We had sun.
We had seasons in the sun,
but the hills we would climb
were just seasons out of time.

Adieu, Papa, please pray for me.
I was the black sheep of the family.
You tried to teach me right from wrong.
Too much wine and too much song,
wonder how we got along.
Adieu, Papa, it’s hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky.
Now that the Spring is in the air
Little children ev’rywhere.
When you see them, I’ll be there.

Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife,
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 spring is in the air
With your lovers ev’rywhere;
just be careful, I’ll be there.

All our lives we had fun.
We had seasons in the sun,
but the hills we would climb
were just season out of time.

Adieu, Emile. Adieu, Papa. Adieu, Francoise.

All our lives, we had fun.
We had seasons in the sun,
but the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time.
All our lives, we had fun.
We had seasons in the sun,
but the stars we could reach
were just starfish on the beach.

Terry Jacks

Goodbye to you my trusted friend
We’ve known each other since we were nine or ten
Together we climbed hills and trees
Learned of love and A B C’s
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.

Goodbye my friend it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
Think of me and I’ll be there

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed were just seasons
Out of time……

Goodbye Papa please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along.

Goodbye Papa its hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them I’ll be there.

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons
Have all gone.

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons
Have all gone.

Goodbye Michelle my little one
You gave me love and helped me find the sun
And every time that I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground.

Goodbye Michelle it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach
Were just starfish on the beach

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach
Were just starfish on the beach

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons
Have all gone

All our lives we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time

Westlife

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend
We’ve known each other since we were nine or ten
Together we climbed hills and trees
Learned of Love and ABC’s
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees

Goodbye my friend, it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
Think of me and I’ll be there

We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed were just Seasons out of time

Goodbye Papa, please pray for me
I was the Black Sheep of the Family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along

Goodbye Papa, it’s hard to die
When all the bird’s are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little Children everywhere
When you see them I’ll be there

We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the Seasons have all gone

We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song, like the Seasons, have all gone

Goodbye Michelle, my little one
You gave me Love and helped me find the sun
And every time when I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground

Goodbye Michelle, it’s hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there

All our lives we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun
but the stars we could reach were just starfish on the beach

We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach were just starfish on the beach

We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song, like the Seasons, have all gone