"Seasons of Love" is a song from the 1996

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', written and composed by

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

. The song starts with an

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

piano motif, which provides the harmonic framework for the cast to sing "Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes" (the number of minutes in a common year). The main instruments used throughout the song are piano, vocals, guitar, organ, bass and drums. The song is performed by the entire cast in the musical and in the 2005

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

. The lyrics ask what the proper way is to quantify the value of a year in human life, concluding in the chorus that the most effective means is to "measure in love". Since four of the lead characters either have HIV or AIDS, the song is often associated with

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired imm ...

and AIDS awareness month.

Songwriter

actually intended for "Seasons of Love" to be performed symbolically as a song at Angel's funeral. When Larson died the night before the preview opening of the show, the cast sang it at the beginning to pay their respects to the composer. It is performed at the beginning of the second act, referencing recent past events or the events to come. The song is heard twice throughout the second act (once as the opener, before A Happy New Year and the reprise is heard after "

Take Me or Leave Me "Take Me or Leave Me" is a song from the musical '' Rent'', written by American composer Jonathan Larson. In the original 1996 Broadway production, the song was performed by Idina Menzel as Maureen and Fredi Walker as Joanne. Film version In the ...

", before "Without You") before hearing it in its last incarnation as background to I'll Cover You: Reprise and Angel's eulogy.

Stage productions

In the stage production, the song is sung at the opening of the second act. The cast stands downstage in a straight line facing the audience. The entire cast performs the song, and the solos are normally performed by two cast members who play several minor roles each (namely Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson). "Seasons of Love" is performed in two parts, the first at the beginning of Act II with the reprise following a few numbers later, following "Take Me or Leave Me". The song has been translated into multiple languages for the international productions of the musical ("Tiempos de amor" in Spanish, "Nur Liebe Bleibt" in German, "Sígræn ást" in Icelandic and "A szerelem évszakai" in Hungarian).

Film adaptation

In the 2005

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of ''Rent'', "Seasons of Love" and its reprise are performed. Only the eight principal characters perform the song, and the two solos are performed by Joanne (

Tracie Thoms Tracie Nicole Thoms is an Emmy-nominated American television, film, and stage actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''Rent'', ''Cold Case'', '' The Devil Wears Prada'', ''Death Proof'', and the short-lived Fox television series ''Wo ...

) and Tom Collins (

Jesse L. Martin Jesse Lamont Martin ('' né'' Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He originated the role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical ''Rent'' and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on '' Law & Order'' and ...

). "Seasons of Love" is first performed at the start of the film with the cast singing it on a theater stage. In the

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

the song plays as a backdrop to a documentary style film about New York life made by the character Mark. Selections from "Seasons of Love" were also used in several of the film's trailers and other promotional material.

Track listings

Charts

Alternative versions

In addition to the 1996 Original Cast Recording (OCR) a number of different versions have been recorded. Along with the OCR soundtrack is an alternative version of Seasons of Love featuring

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

who sings (and improvises upon) the part usually sung by the soloists and also plays harmonica. Hong Kong singer

Sandy Lam Sandy Lam (; born 26 April 1966), is a Hong Kong singer, actress and album producer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as a Cantopop diva, before expanding her fan base significantly in Asia, releasing more than 30 stylistically diverse albums in C ...

recorded a version of the song for her 1997 album ''Wonderful World.'' A version of the song was recorded by

The Broadway Kids The Broadway Kids was a concert group based in New York from 1994 to 2004. The group consisted of a rotating company of children, aged 8 to 16, who have performed in at least one Broadway, Off-Broadway or major national touring production. They ...

on their 2001 album ''The Best of Broadway.'' ''The Office (U.S.)'' characters surprised lead actor

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott (The Office), Michael Scott in ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the The Office (B ...

playing Michael Scott upon his departure on the show during "

Michael's Last Dundies "Michael's Last Dundies" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's 147th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on April 21, 2011. The episode was written and di ...

". ''Rent'' star

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honorif ...

covered the song for her 2019 Christmas album '' Christmas: A Season of Love''. In January 2021 a parody entitled "Seasons of Trump" was posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Randy Rainbow Randy Stewart Rainbow (born July 6, 1981) is a Grammy nominated American comedian and singer, best known for spoof interviews that blend political satire and musical parodies from a progressive perspective. Early life Randy Rainbow was born ...

about the

presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

. As of February 27, 2021 this had received over 1.9M views.

Charting covers

''Glee'' version

On October 10, 2013, the song was covered on the third episode of the fifth season of ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'', " The Quarterback", as a tribute to

Cory Monteith Cory Allan Michael Monteith (; May 11, 1982 July 13, 2013) was a Canadian actor and musician who played Finn Hudson on the Fox television series '' Glee''. As an actor based in British Columbia, Monteith had minor roles on television series bef ...

and his character

Finn Hudson Finn Christopher Hudson is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. The character was portrayed by Cory Monteith and first appeared on television when ''Glee'' premiered its pilot episode on Fox on May 19, 2009 ...

. This version placed on a few record charts, published by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1996 songs 2005 singles Dance-pop songs Electronic songs Idina Menzel songs LGBT-related songs List songs Song recordings produced by Arif Mardin Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs about HIV/AIDS Songs from Rent (musical) Songs written by Jonathan Larson Stevie Wonder songs Warner Records singles