| Song 54 "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" |
| Pete Seeger got the idea for this song from a verse of an old song quoted by Mikhail Sholokhov in "And Quiet Flows the Don." The original words in translation are: "Where are the geese?" They've gone to the reeds. And where are the reeds? They've been gathered by the girls. And where are the girls? They've taken husbands. And where are the Cossacks? They've gone to war." Similar circular-question songs are found in the works of folk and art composers and poets in many parts of the world. (Excerpted from "The Joan Baez Songbook.") |
| Lyrics 1.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 everyone When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? 2. 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? 3. 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, they are all in uniform, When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? 4. 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 everyone, When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? 5. 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 everyone, When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? 6. Where have all the flowers gone, etc. |