"Seasons in the Sun": Battle of the Bands

This is my first time in BOTB, so I thought I would do an old one that was covered by many singers.

I recently discovered "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks from a scathing article in Slate. This was a monstrous hit back in 1974. It sold over 10 million singles, and made #1 for several weeks on the Hot 100 list. It is certainly downbeat, both literally and figuratively. Since this lead song for my part in BOTB comes with this less-than stellar intro from Slate, I won't blame you if you don't suffer all the way through. On the other hand, it is compelling in its way.

This maudlin song had a French language predecessor, Le Moribond (The Dying Man), a chason composed by Belgian Jacques Brel, who also did the vocals. This video also has English subtitles:

The Kingston Trio did a version in their smooth style that maintained similar poignancy, irony, and theme as the Brel song:

The song "Seasons in the Sun" has these major versions and others as well. The Jacks one is sentimental, the Brel one is biting and sarcastic, and the Kingston Trio version has some of the bite but with smoothness reflective of their style from the 1960's.*

So, of the three, whose version do you prefer:

_____ Terry Jack's
_____ Jacques Brel's
_____ The Kingston Trio's

Please vote your preference. I'll tally up the results and post them in six days.

*For those with high pain thresholds, there is also a Nirvana version. Awk!