Pete Seeger

The song "Turn, Turn, Turn" was written in 1959 and was originally titled "To Everything there is a Season". It has the distinction of being the number one hit song with the oldest lyrics in the world.

In an interview with the Smithsonian Institution in 2006, songwriter Pete Seeger discussed the song. He mentioned that "I didn't realize when I improvised a melody to a short poem in the Old Testament, that these few words would be some of the most important words I ever would latch onto".

He came to understand through his songwriting career that a beautiful melody can cross language and religious barriers to help tie this world together, which is something we need now more than ever.

He realized that it was necessary for our ancestors to kill if they wanted to survive and raise children. His concern was that we now have weapons that can kill everyone on earth, so we must develop ways to come together and settle our differences short of war.

He mentions that when native Americans had to make life and death decisions that affected the entire tribe, they made decisions together around a communal fire and placed a high value on telling the truth. We must find a way to do that again.

He hopes we can learn to say what needs to be said without making the other person so angry that they walk out of peaceful negotiations. The opposite is also true. We must not become so angry at what people say that we ourselves walk out of discussions about discovering truth and peaceful coexistence.

The video below was filmed in 1966. The folk singer Judy Collins plays guitar and sings with Pete Seeger. The melody was written by him to accompany the lyrics from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. The folk song is a great example of including biblical content in modern artistic expression.

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity

under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones

and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time

to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

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1966 - Pete Seeger and Judy Collins