To everything turn, turn, turn
Turn! Turn! Turn!: Pete Seeger
It's strange to mourn the loss of someone who could easily have died ten years ago, or thirty, or even fifty...and probably would have deserved their untimely death. David Crosby was a member of two amazing folk/rock groups of the 1960's, the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young.) Both of these groups had big hits which were characterized with sublime harmonies. Crosby led a rather drug-addled life for years, which resulted in a liver transplant nearly thirty years ago and a wonky ticker which he knew could give out at any time. He squandered most of his wealth until selling rights to his songs a couple of years ago. He had an abrasive personalty which alienated him from most of the people in his storied past.
Ruth and I attended a Crosby, Stills & Nash concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in the summer of 1978 but of course they didn't sing the Byrds 1965 hit, Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season). As the bracketed portion of the title suggests, this song is based on a passage from the Hebrew scriptures, Ecclesiastes, one of the Wisdom books. There is an irony that a band which experienced all the excesses of hippie stardom went to the top of the charts with a song based on a bible passage and which endures in the soundtracks of many films.
It's also interesting that the Byrds didn't write the song. Peacenik Pete Seeger did, in the late 1950s, and there were a couple of recordings before it became huge for Byrds. Apparently Seeger's manager wanted him to write something other than a protest song, and he came up with the verses he'd written in a notebook which contained various ideas.
Through the years I included the passage from Ecclesiastes in funeral and memorial services, particularly for those who'd led a long life and death was not an enemy. That Crosby improbably made it to 81, seemed to have mellowed -- well, somewhat -- and died with loved ones close at hand actually fits the theme of Ecclesiastes 3.
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek and a time to lose;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NRSVue
Here are links to versions of the song by the Byrds and Pete Seeger and Judy Collins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ga_M5Zdn4
I really enjoyed this post and an earlier one on Bono, shedding light on the pop-culture performers' music and its links to biblical and spiritual themes and truths. -KB
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy. Good to know that they struck a chord, so to speak. I have an endless fascination with the ways in which spirituality and religion find their way into artistic expression, wether the visual arts, music, or literature.
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