Ecclesiastes 1:3-4

What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Read all of Ecclesiastes 1

19 songs meet this passage

  • The End of the World · Skeeter Davis

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:3-4

    Qoheleth voices the same bewilderment, that generations pass and the earth remains, indifferent to human sorrow.

  • Mr. Rager · Kid Cudi

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The weary questioning of when meaning or rest will truly arrive echoes the Preacher's exhausted search under the sun.

  • Kill Yourself V · $uicideboy$

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The questioning of meaning and purpose mirrors the Preacher's own wrestling with the emptiness of life under the sun.

  • “No, you'll never be the man that you always swore”

    I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) · Zach Bryan

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The weary disillusionment with broken promises and unmet potential echoes the Preacher's lament over things that fail to deliver lasting meaning.

  • We Will Rock You · Queen

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The battered striving of the 'hard man' chasing the world mirrors Ecclesiastes' picture of toil that wears a person down without lasting gain.

  • “This town rips the bones from your back”

    Born to Run · Bruce Springsteen

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The weariness of a grinding, meaningless place mirrors the Preacher's cry that life's labor under the sun can feel empty and crushing.

  • “got nothing to lose”

    Fast Car · Luke Combs

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The weary sense of starting from nothing and chasing a better life mirrors Ecclesiastes' honest wrestling with life's hard labor and uncertain gain.

  • Viva La Vida · Coldplay

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The vanity of all his former glory and power now facing ruin echoes the Preacher's lament on the fleeting nature of earthly achievement.

  • Let Down · Radiohead

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

    The Preacher's lament over the emptiness of toil and striving mirrors this image of people numbing disappointment rather than finding meaning.

  • “Dreaming of a past that couldn't last”

    Bad Blood · Nao

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    The ache over something fleeting and unrecoverable mirrors the Preacher's meditation on the transience of all human things.

  • “You know it's not the same as it was”

    As It Was · Harry Styles

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    The repeated ache over impermanence and change echoes Ecclesiastes' meditation on life's fleeting, shifting nature.

  • “Nothing lasts forever”

    Wildest Dreams · Taylor Swift

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    The song's resigned awareness that this love is fleeting echoes the Preacher's lament over the transience of all things under the sun.

  • November Rain · Guns N' Roses

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    The song's ache over fleeting love mirrors the Preacher's lament that human things under the sun do not last.

  • “Her soul slides away”

    Don't Look Back in Anger (Remastered) · Oasis

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    The drifting, fading imagery captures something of the Preacher's sense of life's transience, though the song doesn't push toward meaning.

  • “I ain't got nothin' to say”

    Dancing In the Dark · Bruce Springsteen

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    The flat weariness and sense of sameness mirrors the Preacher's cry that life under the sun can feel like endless repetition.

  • Dust In the Wind · Kansas

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

    Qoheleth's refrain of 'vanity of vanities' mirrors the song's sense that human effort and generations pass away.

  • “The world's still spinning 'round, we don't know why”

    Champagne Supernova · Oasis

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-9

    The lyric's bewildered 'why' mirrors the Preacher's own vertigo at life's repetition and seeming meaninglessness.

  • “what is love?”

    Landslide (Remastered) · Fleetwood Mac

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-9

    The questioning tone recalls the Preacher's own unresolved wondering about life's meaning, a model of honest searching rather than despair.

  • Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo) · The Andrews Sisters

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 1:2-9

    The song's weary jab at 'civilized' progress echoes the Preacher's observation that human striving and invention often amount to vanity and weariness.

Each reading weighs one song’s words against Scripture. It is AI-assisted and can be wrong; open a song to see its whole reading and decide for yourself.

Elsewhere in Ecclesiastes 1