Pete Seeger was a singer from New York who was part of the growing folk-music movement in the ‘50s and ‘60s. He was a member of The Weavers, a quartet from Greenwich Village, who brought folk music from the country to the big-city stage. Seeger sang, played banjo and wrote many of the songs that would influence the next generation of balladeers.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone? was inspired by a pair of Russian folk songs and Seeger wrote the first 3 verses in 1955 while the last 2 were added by Joe Hickerson in 1960. It is a cyclical song, which means it ends as it began, creating a complete circle of ideas. Pete Seeger himself recorded it in 1964 but its most successful version was done by The Kingston Trio in 1961 (they claimed it was their own song), and it reached #20 in the Billboard Top 100. Later recordings by Peter, Paul and Mary (1962), The Brothers Four (1964), Joan Baez (1965) and Harry Belafonte (1966) took the song in a new direction as the Anti-Vietnam War Protest movement grew in strength. Despite its adopted anti-war message it is a gentle reminder of the circle of life as each generation experiences life and death in its own way. The song was sung at the 2009 funeral of Harry Patch, the last surviving British WWI veteran.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young 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?
Gone to young men, 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?
And where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the soldiers gone, a long 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?
Gone to flowers, every one
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?
As with all of the Hits of the 60s series, the song and the location of this cache are significant. If you feel like it, please take a moment to reflect after making the find.
***Congratulations to MosesRIP for being FTF***