Not so many people know that Terry Jacks’s biggest hit is actually a French song. More accurately, a Belgian song. “Seasons in the Sun” was released in 1974 and hit the top charts across the globe and sold millions of records worldwide. But a long time before that, the song had already been a big success in France.
Its original name is “Le Moribond” and it was written by Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel. The translation into English is quite faithful to the original lyrics of the song and, as it is in English, the French version is a goodbye letter of a dying man (moribond means exactly that – dying man).
Below, you’ll find some of the many versions of “Le Moribond”.
Here’s Indie band Beirut singing the song with the original French words:
Here’s Terry Jack’s version:
Nirvana:
And another Indie (and very cool) band called “Black Box Recorder”:
And also a never release version by the Beach Boys.
But, since I like to save best for last, here’s the most impressive version. I don’t think anybody could ever outshine this very impressive and touching live performance by Jacques Brel. It’s just amazing.
