Talk:Turn! Turn! Turn!

Untitled
Also Marlene Dietrich recorded this song — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.107.150.221 (talk) 15:29, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone know who performed the cover for the 'In America' trailer? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sarnobat (talk • contribs) 01:06, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

More inline references needed
I have added the "refimprove" tag to this article because there are large portions of it with no references at all. The section titled "The Byrds' recording" seems to be OK but the lack of references in most of the rest of the article is a problem. Hopefully some knowledgeable people can dig up some good, independent third-party references to help improve the reliability of this article.Kohoutek1138 00:11, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Is this a Christian Rock song?
Currently, the infobox for The Byrds' single lists "Christian rock" in the genre field. Myself, I'm not sure that I'd designate this song as Christian rock—especially not The Byrds' recording of it. It's an obvious conclusion to come to, given that probably 80% of the songs lyrics are taken verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes. However, I would argue that it's not a bona fide Christian rock song for a number of reasons.

Most importantly, although its lyrics are taken from the Bible, they do not push an overtly Christian viewpoint and neither do they serve as an evangelical sermon. Yes, there's the line "And a time to every purpose under heaven" but featuring the word "Heaven" in a song does not automatically make it a Christian rock song. The lyrical meaning of the song is ambiguous and open to interpretation. Yes, it can be seen as a religious song but it can just as easily be interpreted as a plea for peace and understanding, as the Allmusic review of the song points out: "[Turn! Turn! Turn!] had a lyrical message that couldn't have been more timely as the Vietnam War continued to heat up." Indeed the Wiki article for this song itself states "The lines are open to myriad interpretations, but as a song they are commonly performed as a plea for world peace, with an emphasis on the closing line: "a time for peace, I swear it's not too late.""

It’s also worth remembering that The Byrds were not a Christian band. That is to say that in 1965, when this song was recorded, none of the band members were practicing Christians and none of their other songs from the period have any Christian leanings whatsoever. Indeed, I don’t believe that the song's author, Pete Seeger, was a practicing Christian at the time either. The Wikipedia article on Christian rock defines the genre thus: "Christian rock is a form of rock music played by bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith." In addition, Allmusic cites the genre of Christian rock as having first appeared in the early 1970s, years after "Turn! Turn! Turn!" had been written by Seeger and recorded by The Byrds. Likewise, Allmusic doesn't list "Christian rock" amongst the styles played by The Byrds or among the genres found on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album. Interestingly, the TV Tropes website also lists the song as one that is often mistakenly referred to as Christian rock (see here).

Ultimately, I just don't believe that a "Christian rock" designation for this song is accurate. The song is undoubtedly folk rock—it's a text book example of the genre—but to label it Christian rock is misleading I feel. Yes, you can certainly interpret it as a religious song, but there's no doubt in my mind that it's more widely interpreted as an anti-war, plea for peace and harmony. That's why it appealed to a bunch of proto-hippies like The Byrds and why they covered it. Anybody else got any thoughts on this? --Kohoutek1138 (talk) 09:50, 5 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Ok you convinced me.  Hel pslo ose    17:48, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Seeger wrote it, with his six words at the end, in 1959. Originally, he was calling for peace in the Cold War and its nuclear danger. (See the Wikipedia article on Seeger.)Jakob3 (talk) 19:21, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

Suggestion for additional reference
IP editor 101.169.145.158 added this to §References. Moved it here where it is more appropriate.


 * You may like to add to this list the version sung around Sydney in 1964 by Gary Shearston who also recorded it around that time; it was his rendition of the song that has stayed with me since then.


 * Best wishes,


 * Ian Bowyer, Newcastle, Australia.

--Trappist the monk (talk) 13:49, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

Very essay-like
Much of it needs to be rewritten. Medico80 (talk) 15:51, 4 October 2019 (UTC)

2021
"Ecclesiastes is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon who would have written it in the 10th century BC, but believed by a significant group of biblical scholars to date much later, up to the third century BC.[4]"

Shouldn't this be "earlier"? Assuming the source is useful. -- Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C6:9C1D:FA01:E8ED:4F60:B28D:AB25 (talk) 14:38, 7 June 2021 (UTC)


 * No, the 3rd century BC (roughly 299BC-200BC) is later than the tenth century BC (roughly 999BC to 900BC). AnonMoos (talk)