Pete Seeger: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Peter Seeger

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
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, 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 for husbands everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the husbands gone, long time passing?
Where have all the husbands gone, long time ago?
Where have all the husbands gone?
Gone for soldiers everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, 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, everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, 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, everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

On July 26, 1956, the USA House of Representatives voted 373 to 9 to cite Peter 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. Peter Seeger testified before the HUAC in 1955. In one of Peter'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 Quiet 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.

Dennis Edwards:

Peter Seeger's song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” conveys the futility of war and the yearning man has for peace. Mankind has a universal longing for peace. Only the supernatural love of God will enable us to love our neighbor and our enemy as ourselves. Only the intervention of God Himself in the second coming of Jesus Christ will stop man's endless desire to rule over his enemy, will stop man's endless wars.

 

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” [Matthew 24:29-30]

Only then will men be forced by the loving and yet strong hand of Christ to pound "their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." [Isaiah 2:4] Peace shall come at last for a thousand years as Jesus Himself rules over the remains of mankind's horrific battle fields and the ruiness results of WWIII. 

And in that day the lion shall lie down with the lamb and nothing shall hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain as Isaiah prophesized, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like an ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” [Isaiah 11:6-9]

But mankind still has some very perilous days ahead, days of Great Tribulation before we reach that Millenial Kingdom. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” [Matthew 24:21-22]

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” [Luke 21:25-26]

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” [Daniel 12:1]

"I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turnedinto paleness. Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." [Jeremiah 30:6-7]

But each of us individually can today enter into God's kingdom of love and peace by receiving Jesus into our heart's right now. We don't have to wait til tomorrow. All we need to do is admit our faults and our inability to save and solve our own problems, our inability to relieve our hearts of the pain and sorry and bitterness and hatred that so often overcome us. That's why we need God and His mercy, His love, His forgiveness. We cannot make it in our own strength. We are not strong enough.

Let’s read a few passages from the Bible on finding strength. The first is from Apostle Paul when he questioned the Lord why the Lord hadn’t healed him of a certain affliction. The Lord spoke to him and said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness.” Paul continues, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my affirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong,” because then His strength can work through my weakness. [2 Corinthians 12:9-10]

The second passage is a beautiful one found in Isaiah. “Hast thou not known? Hast thous not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” [Isaiah 40:28-31] 

Here we see the importance of spending time with the Lord to renew our strength, to charge up our batteries. We recharge our batteries in those quiet moments we take apart to be with God and our thoughts. We can spend time reading God's good word found in the Bible. We can spend time in prayer and pouring out our heart to God. We can spend time listening to the still, small voice of conscience, God's voice to us. We can spend time in praise and thanksgiving and song, worshipping God for His goodness to the children of men.

The next passage is one from Jesus Himself. “Come unto Me, all ye that labou rand are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30] We need to come to Jesus daily, and throughout the day with our problems and concerns and He will give us the quietness and rest of spirit that we need. As we read also in Isaiah 30:15, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” We need to keep returning to Jesus. He's the source of strength.

God is longing to strengthen us. He is longing to help us. He is longing to enter into our domain and relieve us of our inability to solve our own problems. He is calling out to each of us to call out to Him. Through Jesus we can be reconciled with God and reconnect with His Divine Power. Call upon Jesus today. He's only a prayer away.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, I know I have messed up and things have not worked out as I had hope. I see the situation in the world today and know I really need your presence in my life in order to confront what lies ahead. Jesus, please help me. I submit myself to You. I surrender all. Please come into my life and give me the strength that I lack. Give me a desire to read and follow your word. In Jesus's name I pray.