I have had the great good fortune to see
Pete Seeger play up close numerous times,
Sometimes with Arlo Guthrie side by side.
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone" is a
Haunting song I remember from my earliest
Days of music awareness on this planet.
I had heard vague whisperings of its origin,
And today I become aware of more, much more
Thank I knew before.
All because of a response I received
Related to the post on the mining disaster.
Some people learn, and it's usually a slow
Process or a lightning bolt to the head.
I love this version of Pete Seeger performing the song...
Does not fail to bring a chill and tears every time.
Hope you enjoy it...
Thanks to....:
Thespadecaller — February 18, 2008 — On July 26, 1956, the House of Representatives voted
373 to 9 to cite Pete Seeger and seven others (including playwright Arthur Miller) for contempt,
as they failed to cooperate with House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their attempts to
investigate alleged subversives and communists. Pete Seeger testified before the HUAC in 1955.
In one of Pete's darkest moments, when his personal freedom, his career, and his safety were in jeopardy,
a flash of inspiration ignited this song. The song was stirred by a passage from Mikhail Sholokhov's novel
"And Quie Flows the Don". Around the world the song traveled and in 1962 at a UNICEF concert in
Germany, Marlene Dietrich, Academy Award-nominated German-born American actress, first performed
the song in French, as "Qui peut dire ou vont les fleurs?" Shortly after she sang it in German.
The song's impact in Germany just after WWII was shattering.
It's universal message, "let there be peace in the world" did not get lost in its translation.
To the contrary, the combination of the language, the setting, and the great lyrics has had a profound effect
on people all around the world. May it have the same effect today and bring renewed awareness to all that hear it.
To that I add my voice and hope.
Comments
Thank you for posting Pete's, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Relevant today as it was in the '50's, I am always moved on hearing it. Your comments evoke memories for me as my family, too, was swept up in the McCarthy scourge (folded into my "Backstory" blogpost). My Mom's affiliation with the Communist Party was mentioned when she was honored by Congressman Jim McDermott for her 65 years of activism. Remember, these voices were silenced. Pete's music was banned from the radio. Arrests for treason were rampant. The Rosenburgs were executed. Our parents could have been next.
The lesson I take from Pete, who turned 90 last year and is honored worldwide, even by heads of state, and my Mom who is now 97 and has a wall full of acknowledgments, is that some folks can't be bought. Their enduring commitment to the common good, their fortitude and discipline in the face of great odds has its own rewards and makes the work visible (and possible) for future generations to sooner or later rise to the occasion. A song and a sense of humor along the way helps us to lighten up!
Love and blessings,
Pushkara