This song suits my mood tonight. I think perhaps it suits the state of our nation tonight.

Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014)
Pete Seeger, who died in January 2014 at the age of 94, wrote this song, and the following is his story of how the song came to be:
“I had been reading a long novel—”And Quiet Flows the Don”—about the Don River in Russia and the Cossacks who lived along it in the 19th century. It describes the Cossack soldiers galloping off to join the Czar’s army, singing as they go. Three lines from a song are quoted in the book: ‘Where are the flowers? The girls plucked them / Where are the girls? They’re all married / Where are the men? They’re all in the army.’ I never got around to looking up the song, but I wrote down those three lines.
“Later, in an airplane, I was dozing, and it occurred to me that the line ‘long time passing’—which I had also written in a notebook—would sing well. Then I thought, ‘When will we ever learn.’ Suddenly, within 20 minutes, I had a song. There were just three verses. I Scotch-taped the song to a microphone and sang it at Oberlin College. This was in 1955.
“One of the students there had a summer job as a camp counselor. He took the song to the camp and sang it to the kids. It was very short. He gave it rhythm, which I hadn’t done. The kids played around with it, singing ‘Where have all the counselors gone? / Open curfew, everyone.’
“The counselor added two actual verses: ‘Where have all the soldiers gone? / Gone to graveyards every one / Where have all the graveyards gone? / Covered with flowers every one.’ Joe Hickerson is his name, and I give him 20 percent of the royalties. That song still brings in thousands of dollars from all around the world.”
The song has been recorded by many, including Joan Baez, The Kingston Trio, Olivia Newton-John and even Dolly Parton, but the one that surprised me was Bernie Sanders! Yep, the one and only Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont apparently produced an album in 1987, 20 years before becoming a senator, titled We Shall Overcome. Who knew?
My favourite version of the song has always been Peter, Paul & Mary’s, but tonight I came across a version Seeger did sometime late in life, playing banjo and singing, and I found it moving. So, I am including both here, and you can pick one or listen to both. Or neither, I suppose, but then my feelings would be hurt, so listen to at least one, ‘k?
Where Have All the Flowers Gone
Pete Seeger/Peter, Paul & Mary
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
Songwriters: Peter Seeger
Where Have All the Flowers Gone lyrics © The Bicycle Music Company
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This song has been going through my mind all week. Haunting song.
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Indeed so. One line in particular: “When will they ever learn?” pops into my head almost daily, if not hourly. When, indeed?
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Oh my! This was such a favorite I learned to play it on the ukulele. I was partial to Peter Paul and Mary singing it, but definitely liked Pete.
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I am trying to visualize … or rather hear in my mind … this being played on the ukulele, but it just won’t come to mind! Don’t suppose you’ve recorded yourself playing it? Glad you liked the song!
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Nope. I wish I did. I also played Michael Rode the Boat Ashore and Puff the Magic Dragon. Those were the days. 🙂
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Oh yeah! “Puff the Magic Dragon” is among my favourite songs of all time!!!
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Those were the days!
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Plz redux this song as many times as u wish! A fabulous classic ❤
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Pete Seeger’s voice took me right back!
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I’m so glad!!! 😊
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Loved the background info. Super song. Always loved Peter, Paul, and Mary. Paul went to my high school and came back and the group did a concert there after I had graduated. They brought the house down.
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What a cool connection! They generally brought the house down wherever they went, I think! I loved PP&M … and this song has not lost its relevance even today … perhaps it never will.
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We are humans after all.
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Most of us are … there are a few I wonder about 😉
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An interesting song history. Inspiration can come for such unlikely sources. An appropriate choice for our times. Where have all the sound minds gone?
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Indeed it is timely even, or especially, today. The line, “When will they ever learn” is one that comes to mind quite often these days.
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Thanks for this. I love Pete Seeger. He was a truly good man. Are you familiar with Elizabeth Cotton. She was his family’s maid. When he heard her singing and playing, he encouraged her to perform. I love her, too.
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Ms Cotten had a unique finger picking style, called “Cotten picking”, after her. Often writers will mistakenly write “Cotton Picking”, like picking cotton in the fields.
Her life story is an amazing story, better than any screenplay. I encourage anyone to look her up and read her wiki. She’s the composer of a famous song almost everybody knows and loves, called “freight train”, wrote it when she was only 12 years old. She’s amazing!
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No, I am not familiar with Elizabeth Cotton, but will definitely check her out later today! Thanks!
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awesome work
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