As country music swung back toward traditional styles in the 1980s, an inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard rose to the top of the business and notched hit after barroom hit. Sometimes he was known simply as "the Voice." Born in Woodland, AL, Vern Gosdin idolized the Louvin Brothers and the Blue Sky Boys as a young man and sang in a gospel quartet called the Gosdin Brothers.
When he was in his late teens, his family moved to Birmingham and began hosting The Gosdin Family Gospel Show on a local radio station. Gosdin and his brother, Rex, moved to Long Beach, CA, in 1961.
They began performing bluegrass music in the milieu that gave birth to country-rock, joining a group called the Golden State Boys which evolved into The Blue Diamond Boys in 1962 when future Byrds member Chris Hillman joined them on the mandoline. Shorty after they would rename again to The Hillmen which disbanded in the summer of 1964, when Chris Hillman left to join the BYRDS. During this time the group recorded an album, which was released by Together Records in 1970 as "Don Parmley And The Five String Banjo". Vern and Rex teamed up to sing country music as the Gosdin Brothers once again, had a Top 40 country hit in 1967 with "Hangin' On," and opened for the Byrds on occasion.
Gosdin moved to Atlanta in 1972, raising a family and running a retail shop. But he never gave up on music completely. He performed at local clubs and began to gravitate toward Nashville, where Emmylou Harris, a friend of Gosdin's from his California days, was laying the foundation for a neo-traditionalist style of country music. Around 1976 Gosdin and Harris cut a demo single consisting of "Hangin' On" backed with a newly written song, "Yesterday's Gone." The demo got Gosdin signed to the Elektra label, and both songs cracked the country Top 20. In the late '70s he notched several major hits, including "Till the End" (with Janie Fricke), "Mother Country Music," and a remake of the Association's "Never My Love."
In 1980, after the demise of Elektra's country division, Gosdin quickly moved through several contracts and landed with the independent Nashville label Compleat. He made the Top Ten consistently in the early '80s, really hitting his stride when he teamed with Max D. Barnes as a songwriting collaborator. The pair specialized in songs of cheating and barroom romance, often delivering an over-the-top emotionalism that got Gosdin compared to the ultimate legend of honky tonk vocals, George Jones. In 1983, Gosdin had two Top Five hits — "If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong (Do It Right)" and "Way Down Deep." The following year he had his first number one single with "I Can Tell by the Way You Dance (You're Gonna Love Me Tonight)" and had two additional Top Ten hits. His career hit a lull in the mid-'80s, but in 1987, with the new traditionalist movement in full swing and Warner Bros. artist Randy Travis roosting at the top of the charts, he was tapped by the Columbia label. He bounced back into the Top Ten that year with the tortured "Do You Believe Me Now," and in 1988 he hit number one once again with the perennially popular Ernest Tubb tribute "Set 'Em Up Joe." Gosdin's "Chiseled in Stone," co-written with Barnes, won the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1989. His 1989 album Alone was a rarity: a concept album in a traditional country style. It chronicled the dissolution of Gosdin's marriage. Vern's popularity is again on the rise as 2008 sees the release of his life's works on a 101 song Box Set titled 40 Years of The Voice. This living legend continues to represent pure traditional country.
Turn Turn Turn
Vern Gosdin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
The song "Turn, Turn, Turn" by Vern Gosdin is a beautiful ballad that highlights the cyclical nature of time and the ebb and flow of life. The opening verse of the song captures this thought perfectly by stating that everything in this world has a season and purpose. The song goes on to describe various seasons of life and the emotions and events that correspond with them.
The first verse speaks of the beginning and the end of life. It alludes to the fact that everything has a predetermined time, and so one should experience and cherish every moment in life. The second verse talks about the cultivation of crops and how the act of sowing the seeds is a time of hope and optimism, while reaping the harvest is a time of joy and satisfaction. The third verse highlights that life is not always happy, and that there are times of sadness and mourning.
The fourth verse speaks of the power of love and the way it can transform a person. The fifth verse talks about the destruction caused by war, followed by the calmness of the peace that follows. The final verse highlights the need for love and peace in our lives and emphasizes that it is never too late to find these things.
In summary, the song "Turn, Turn, Turn" is a beautiful ode to life and the seasons we all go through. The lyrics highlight the importance of experiencing every moment and cherishing every season of life.
Line by Line Meaning
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
Everything in life has a cyclical nature
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
There are different phases or stages in life, each with its own unique characteristics
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
Each of these phases serves a specific purpose in the grand scheme of things
A time to be born, a time to die
There is a time for every living thing to come into existence and a time for it to pass on
A time to plant, a time to reap
There is a time for sowing seeds and nurturing life and a time for harvesting the fruits of one's labor
A time to kill, a time to heal
There is a time for violence and aggression, and there is a time for kindness and compassion
A time to laugh, a time to weep
There is a time for joy and happiness and a time for sadness and grief
A time to build up,a time to break down
There is a time for construction and growth and a time for demolition and decay
A time to dance, a time to mourn
There is a time for celebration and merriment and a time for grieving and lamentation
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
There is a time to discard useless things and a time to gather and preserve valuable items
A time of love, a time of hate
There is a time for affection and warmth and a time for animosity and bitterness
A time of war, a time of peace
There is a time for conflict and aggression and a time for calmness and harmony
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing
There is a time for physical closeness and intimacy and a time for emotional distance and detachment
A time to gain, a time to lose
There is a time for acquisition and expansion and a time for relinquishment and decline
A time to rend, a time to sew
There is a time for tearing apart and destruction and a time for mending and repair
A time for love, a time for hate
There is a time for cultivating positive emotions and a time for experiencing negative ones
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
There may have been times of conflict and turmoil, but it's never too late to strive for peace and harmony
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Peter Seeger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind