這首《Seasons in the Sun / 陽光季節》係改編自法文歌曲《Le Moribond / The Dying Man》，最早是由Kingston Tro ( 京士頓三重唱 )在1964錄製推出，但未受矚目。之後，The Beach Boys ( 海灘少年 )也將之錄為單曲，但因故決定不發行。此時，參與錄製的Terry Jacks ( 曾與Susan Pesklevits共組Poppy Family，其知名的代表作品為《Which Way You Going Billy》 )，將部份的歌詞改寫，於1973年底推出了他自己的版本，並在次年3月一舉衝上了冠軍歌曲的寶座。
這首歌講的是一中年位男人知道自己將不久人世前的告白。法文歌詞中有以花來隱喻妻子，並以”eyes closed”意為無視於妻子的不貞。 ( 以下為英譯歌詞 )：
Good-bye, my wife, I loved you well
Good-bye, my wife, I loved you well, you know,
But I'm taking the train for the Good Lord,
I'm taking the train before yoursBut you take whatever train you can;
Goodbye, my wife, I'm going to die,
It's hard to die in springtime, you know,
But I'm leaving for the flowers with my eyes closed, my wife,
Because I closed them so often,
I know you will take care of my soul.
但由Rod McKuen所編譯的英文歌詞 ( Kingston Tro的版本 )，就直接指說及原諒妻子的不貞，聽來頗令人震憾。事實上，知道或懷疑妻子曾出軌的男人恐怕也不少，忍氣吞聲的直到死前才說出來，也真是有點悲哀。
Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife;
Without you I'd have had a lonely life.
You cheated lots of times but then,
I forgave you in the end
Though your lover was my friend.
Adieu, Francoise, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky.
Now that spring is in the air
With your lovers ev'rywhere,
Just be careful; I'll be there.
然而，Terry Jacks推出的版本將這些歌詞都改掉了，改成為一個青少年面對死亡前對於生命的眷戀，聽來較有那種正面光明性的意義。
創作這首歌的比利時籍詞曲作家Jacques Brel，當時是以揣摩正值盛年因病垂死之人的心情寫下了這首歌。然而他自己也在正值盛年的1974被發現罹癌，1978終於不敵病魔辭世，享年49歲。這雖然不能說是一語成讖，卻也巧合的令人不禁要驚嘆：啊！怎麼會是這樣！？
Goodbye to you, my trusted friend
We've known each other since we're nine or ten
Together we climbed hills or trees
Learned of love and ABC's
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees
再見了，我忠實的朋友
咱們從九歲或十歲時就認識了我們一起爬山，一起爬樹
一起學習愛和ABC
磨鍊心性，也磨破了膝蓋
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
When you see them I'll be there
再見了，朋友，道別是如此難以啟齒
當鳥兒在空中歌唱
此刻，四處洋溢著春天的氣息
漂亮的女孩隨處可見
當你看見她們，我將隨之出現
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed
Were just seasons out of time
我們曾擁有快樂，擁有歡笑
我們曾擁有陽光季節
我們爬過的小山坡
不曾因時光而變換季節
Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me
I was the black sheep* of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I get along
再見，老爸，請為我祈禱
我曾是家裡的壞小孩
你曾試著教我分辨對與錯
太多的美酒與歌
懷疑我是怎麼過日子的
Goodbye, Papa, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them I'll be there
再見了，老爸，道別是如此難以啟齒
當鳥兒在空中歌唱
此刻，四處洋溢著春天的氣息
孩童們四處奔跑
當你看見他們，我將隨之出現
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone
我們曾擁有快樂，擁有歡笑
我們曾擁有陽光季節
但美酒與歌
像季節一樣已消逝無蹤
Goodbye Michelle, my little one
You gave me love and helped me find the sun
And every time that I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground
再見了，蜜雪兒，我的小情人
你給了我愛，幫助我找到陽光
每次我意志消沈
你總是來到我身邊
幫助我重新振作起來
Goodbye, Michelle, it's hard to die
When all the bird are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there
再見了，蜜雪兒，道別是如此難以啟齒
當鳥兒在空中歌唱
此刻，四處洋溢著春天的氣息
花兒滿地綻放
多麼希望我倆能在一起
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach
Were just starfishes on the beach
我們曾擁有快樂，擁有歡笑
我們曾擁有陽光季節
但我們能摘到的星星
只不過是沙灘上的海星
【歌詞來自「安德森之夢」網站】
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