I first heard Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks (1974) on my grandmother’s tennant’s portable record player in the hallway outside her apartment. Once I heard it, I couldn’t forget it. It had both elements I need in a pop song, a catchy tune and melancholy lyrics.
Wikipedia tells us the song was based on Le Moribond by Jacques Brel and was performed by a few other acts before Jacks lightened up the lyrics a bit and took it to one-hit-wonderdom. A quick look at YouTube shows us Brel’s original song, Terry Jacks’ version, covers by Nirvana, Westlife, Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies, one of many karaoke versions and a Harry Potter mash-up. I dare you to listen to all of them – you won’t get the song out of your head for days.
Isn’t the Interweb wonderful?