Chanced upon a copy of Canadian performer Terry Jacks' 1973-74 hit single Seasons In The Sun at a garage sale today. One of the biggest selling songs of all time, it sold 14 million copies worldwide.
The song is basically the English version of Belgian Jacques Brel's 1961 release Le Moribund, with re-worked lyrics written in 1963 by the American poet Rod McKuen.
The song is an overly sentimental, sappy as hell, chunk of mellow gold. It is also considered one of the worst songs ever recorded.
Which hasn't stopped bands ranging from the Beach Boys to Nirvana from recording cover versions.
It was the very first single I ever bought. It cost .94 cents at the Kresge store in Spring Valley, which was small fortune to my little 11 ten-year old self.
But I had to have it, as that song was just the cat's pajamas to me.
Yeah, I know. But hey, tastes evolve.
That song, however, is not the topic of this dialog. The flip side of the single is.
Try to imagine what my eleven-year old brain thought when I first read the title of the B side of the single. If you imagined it was anything close to "Man, this I gotta hear," you are absolutely correct.
So I played it.
Unfortunately, my mom was within earshot.
The song lyrics are stated more than sung. The very first line is "Put the bone in...she asked him..."
I only got to play the record once, never saw it again.
You can hear it on YouTube now, and yeah, it's as horrible as the A side.
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