Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)

The Byrds

Song Review by William Ruhlmann

Pete Seeger is more of a song collector than a songwriter, and his occasional compositions usually are steeped in folk tradition even when they are not actually adapted from other sources. Sometime in the 1950s, Seeger took several verses from The Bible's Book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 3, verses 1-8), adapted them slightly, added the folky refrain "Turn, turn, turn," and set them to a simple melody he later self-deprecatingly compared to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." He sent the resulting song to his publisher and no doubt performed it now and then, but he didn't record it until July 1962, at the Bitter End nightclub in New York City -- the performance was released by Columbia Records that November as the LP The Bitter and the Sweet. Even before then, however, it had been released by the Limeliters on their album Folk Matinee under the title "To Everything There Is a Season (Turn! Turn! Turn!)." The Limeliters' backup guitarist was Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, who remembered the song a little over a year later when he was backing Judy Collins at the sessions for her third album, Judy Collins #3 (1964) and made a lovely arrangement of the song that altered the melody slightly at the words "turn, turn, turn," to make the tone more upbeat, and gave the song a lilting rhythm. A year after that, McGuinn was in the Byrds, the seminal folk-rock group who had topped the charts in the summer of 1965 with Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," but then stumbled with its follow-up, Dylan's "All I Really Want to Do," which barely made the Top 40 due to a competing version by Cher. As the group cast about for a third single, McGuinn suggested "Turn! Turn! Turn!," which had a lyrical message that couldn't have been more timely as the Vietnam War continued to heat up. (Seeger had added to the Biblical phrase "a time for peace" the words "I swear it's not too late.") McGuinn adapted his Judy Collins arrangement with a modified samba rhythm, played his guitar part on his 12-string Rickenbacker, and added the Byrds' harmonies; the result was magical. (Even Seeger, no great fan of rock & roll, liked it.) "Turn! Turn! Turn!" shot up the charts, becoming the Byrds' second number one and the biggest hit of their career by December 1965. Already a folk standard by then, the song was recorded by many other performers in the wake of the Byrds' version, but the hit recording tended to depress the proliferation of other covers over the long term (as well as obscure the earlier versions), so that, while "Turn! Turn! Turn!" remains a familiar song, it is closely linked with McGuinn's masterful arrangement and the Byrds' unforgettable recording.

Appears On

Year Artist/Album Label Time AllMusic Rating
Turn! Turn! Turn! 1965 Legacy / Columbia 3:49
Rock's Greatest Hits 1972
Various Artists
Columbia
History of the Byrds 1973 CBS Records
Original Singles, Vol. 1 (1965-1967) 1980 Columbia 3:37
Freedom Rock 1987
Various Artists
Sessions Records
Classic Rock: 1965 - The Beat Goes On 1988
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:46
20 Essential Tracks from the Boxed Set: 1965-1990 1991 Columbia / Legacy 3:54
AM Gold: The Mid '60s 1991
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:39
The 60's Revisited: HMV 1991
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:32
Collection [Castle] 1992 Castle Music Ltd.
Free Flyte 1992 Sony Music Distribution
The Oldie Collection, Vol. 2 1992
Various Artists
Columbia 3:40
Drift Away, Vol. 2 1993
Various Artists
Sounds Direct
Supergroups 1994
Various Artists
Stardust Records
Forrest Gump 1994
Original Soundtrack
Epic 3:54
Born to Be Wild, Vol. 1 [Madacy] 1995
Various Artists
Madacy 3:43
Definitive Collection 1995 Columbia 3:44
I Love Rock & Roll: Hits of the '60s, Vol. 2 1996
Various Artists
Priority Records 3:54
Days of Flower Power 1996
Various Artists
K-Tel Distribution 3:56
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Eleventh Annual Induction Dinner 1996
Various Artists
DPRO
Expanded Edition Album Sampler, Vol. 2 1997 Columbia 3:49
Beat Goes On [Rivie're] 1998
Various Artists
Riviere International Records 3:54
Super Hits 1998 Legacy / Sony Music Distribution 3:53
Full Flyte (1965-1970) 1998 Raven 3:55
Greatest Hits of the 60s, Vol. 2 [Platinum Disc #1] 1999
Various Artists
Platinum Disc 3:37
The 60's, Vol. 3 1999
Various Artists
Platinum Disc 3:55
Birdy 1999 Akarma
Pop Music: The Golden Era 1951-1975 1999
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:35
Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century 1999
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:35
Spirit of the 60's [Universal 1999] 1999
Various Artists
Universal Distribution 3:41
Spirit of the 60's [Madacy 2000] 2000
Various Artists
Madacy 3:43
Sixties Collection: Great 2000
Various Artists
Festival Records 3:55
Spirit of the 60's: Folk Rock, Vol. 1 2000
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:52
De Leukste Hits Uit de Radio 2 Top 2000: Van Het Millennium 2000
Various Artists
Universal Distribution
Singers & Songwriters: The 1960's 2000
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:56
Ultimate Rock Classics, Vol. 1 2000
Various Artists
Realm Records 3:51
Rock Hits of the 60's 2001
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:51
Simply the Best of the 60's [2001 Single Disc] 2001
Various Artists
Sony Music
Dick Clark's #1's: 50's to 70's "When AM Radio Was King" 2001
Various Artists
Rhino 3:51
A Year in Your Life: 1965, Vol. 2 2001
Various Artists
Definitive 3:36
Simply the Best of the 60's [2001 Boxset] 2001
Various Artists
BMG 3:42
Singers and Songwriters: Late '60s 2001
Various Artists
Time / Life Music
The Byrds-The Album 2002 Surprise
Paramount Pictures 90th Anniversary: Memorable Songs 2002
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:54
36 All-Time Favorites 2002 Timeless 3:51
Capital Gold 60's Legends 2002
Various Artists
Phantom Import Distribution
Rock Classics: The Heavyweights 2002
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:45
Written by... 2003
Various Artists
Sony Music Distribution 3:42
The Essential Byrds 2003 Columbia / Legacy 3:51
The Folk Years [Box Set] 2003
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:55
60's the Decade of Love and Music 2004
Various Artists
Platinum Disc 3:51
Pure Acoustic 2004
Various Artists
Universal Distribution 3:53
The '60s Rock Experience 2005
Various Artists
Shout! Factory 3:34
The Sixties: Harmony 2006
Various Artists
American Beat Records 3:51
Very Best of the Byrds [2006] 2006 Sony Music Distribution
There Is a Season 2006 Legacy / Columbia / Sony BMG 3:52
#1 Super 60's Hits 2006
Various Artists
Madacy 3:36
The Classic Sixties Collection: 1965 2006
Various Artists
Universal Distribution
Collection [BMG/Camden] 2007 Sony Music Distribution 3:52
Fab Gear: Classic Flower Power Pop from the Summer of Love 2007
Various Artists
UMVD 3:47
Simply the Best of the 60s [2007] 2007
Various Artists
Sony BMG 3:43
Flower Power [Time Life Box] 2007
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:55
Flower Power: Age of Aquarius [Time Life #1] 2007
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:55
Flower Power: Groovin' [Time Life #2] 2007
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:55
World's Best Dad [2007] 2007
Various Artists
Bmg Tv 3:54
100 Hits: Pop 2008
Various Artists
100 Hits / Crimson Productions / Demon 3:51
Peace And Love [Madacy] 2008
Various Artists
Madacy 3:51
Original Album Classics [2008] 2008 Columbia 3:53
A Change Is Gonna Come [Universal] 2009
Various Artists
Universal Distribution 3:53
There & Then: 1965 2009
Various Artists
Commercial Canada
Original Hits: 60s Pop 2010
Various Artists
EMI 3:44
Singers & Songwriters [Time-Life Box Set] 2011
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:54
The Ultimate Collection: 60s - 100 Hits 2011
Various Artists
Ultimate / Ultimate Collection 3:54
The Complete Columbia Albums Collection 2011 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music / Sony Music Entertainment 3:53
'60s Music Revolution 2012
Various Artists
Time / Life Music 3:55
Brian Wilson's Jukebox: The Music That Inspired the Man 2012 Chrome Dreams 3:30
The 60s: The Byrds 2014 BMG / Sony Music Entertainment 3:52
Turn! Turn! Turn! The Byrds: Ultimate Byrds Collection 2015 Sony Music
The Broadcast Archive 2017 The Broadcast Archive 3:35
100 Hits: The Best Sixties Album 2017
Various Artists
100 Hits / Demon Records 3:50
100 Hits: Peace & Love
Various Artists
100 Hits / Demon Records / Edsel
Eddie Stobart Trucking Songs: Trucking All over the World
Various Artists
Sony Music 3:34
Eight Miles High: The Best Of The Byrds Camden / Camden International 3:51
Feelin' Groovy [Mood]
Various Artists
Mood Media Entertainment 3:51
Get Together: The Colourful Sound of the Sixties
Various Artists
Sony Music
Groovin': Hits From the 60s
Various Artists
EMI 3:36
Magic Bus: Summer of Love
Various Artists
Universal Music TV 3:50
Seems Like Yesterday, Vol. 5: Mid 60's
Various Artists
K-Tel Distribution 3:42
The Great Sixties Collection, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Rajon Entertainment Pty Ltd. 3:55
Turn Turn Turn: Musical Documentary Blueline / IMV / Laser Media
Woodstock-Love & Peace Generation
Various Artists
WSM