Religious Rock Top Ten: Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) (#8)

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of the myLotters in the U.S.A. And a good day to all of you throughout the world who aren’t stuffing yourself on turkey and dressing today. In honor of the religious theme of the holidays I’m counting down religion-based songs that were hits. Here’s today’s song. #8: Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) - The Byrds Most people, even those who don’t know the Bible, can quote a little bit (if not all) of the 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”) or the “Lord’s Prayer” (“Our Father who art in Heaven”). If you know this song, you can quote Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, too! Folk icon Pete Seeger took the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and put them to music, adding the line “turn, turn, tun” to make it less obvious that you were singing the Bible. He also added the line, “I swear it’s not too late” after “a time for peace.” The contrasts — “a time of love and a time of hate” — resonate throughout the verses. Ecclesiastes is ascribed to King Solomon, as are many of the writings in the book of Proverbs. There you’ll find numerous contrasts (“hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs”) as well. The Byrds covered the song in 1965, making it a lot more contemporary because of the buildup in Vietnam. #8: Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) Adapted by Pete Seeger Recorded by the Byrds From Turn! Turn! Turn!, 1965 A time to gather stones: