Where have all the verses gone?

I had the good fortune, last Friday evening, to hear the Kingston Trio perform at the Tsillan Cellars winery in Chelan, Washingon. The Kingston Trio has been playing folk music since 1957, and although the group's membership has changed over the years, I was pleased to find that the sound remains true to the original group. It was a wonderful show, with one glaring exception:

The group played many of the folk standards you'd expect from them, including Pete Seeger's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" If you're not familiar with the song, it asks a series of questions, the answer of each leading to the next question: Where have all the flowers gone? Young girls picked them, every one. Where have all the young girls gone? Gone to young men, every one. Where have all the young men gone? Gone to soldiers, every one. Where have all the soldiers gone? Gone to graveyards, every one. Where have all the graveyards gone? Gone to flowers, every one. Each verse ends with the question, "When will they ever learn?"

They left out a verse, and in doing so, they left out the whole point of the song. They left out "Where have all the soldiers gone?" The soldiers have gone to graveyards, that's where they've gone, and that's the point. War kills people, people who wind up in graveyards, pushing up daisies. And then the process repeats. When will they ever learn?

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 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 to 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?
Gone to flowers every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?


When will we ever learn?

Jim Allyn September 3, 2006.