Time and Circumstance – Music Story

In the 1960s an ancient poem set to music became a number-one pop hit. Can you guess the song?

Some hints:

·         The poem, perhaps three thousand years old, is one of the best-known passages in the Bible.

·         The song proved that Ecclesiastes is a timeless book.

More hints:

·         Songwriter Pete Seeger incorporated the poem verbatim in the song.

·         Released as a single October 1, 1965, The Byrds cover, a folk-rock version, climbed to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts within three months of its release.

Did you guess the song? It’s Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season).

There is more to Ecclesiastes than being a number-one pop hit. Ecclesiastes is Wisdom’s search for meaning in the ordinary things of life. The conclusion?

Chapter 1: Secularism doesn’t deliver.

Chapter 2: Neither do possessions or pleasure.

Chapter 3: But, if you live your life in accord with the times and seasons God has set up, will your life have meaning?

So, Chapter 3 begins with the well-known poem, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” But there is more to Chapter 3 than the poem. Time and Circumstance is a rap, examining the entire chapter, looking for an answer.

From the album “Ecclesiastes” this video is scrolling playback of a percussion ensemble performance.

Kathy

Click here to read Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.

You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Time and Circumstance.

Click here for print sheet music.

Click here for digital sheet music.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music. Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)