"Where have all the flowers gone?"

È morto a 94 anni il cantautore folk e attivista Pete Seeger. Lo vogliamo ricordare con la sua “Where have all the flowers gone?”, una delle più celebri canzoni contro la guerra di ogni tempo, diventata famosa grazie a Joan Baez. Pete Seeger si ispirò ad un brano del Placido Don dello scrittore russo Michajl Šolochov, dove si riportavano tre versi di una canzone popolare ucraina (E dove sono le oche? Son corse fra le canne. / E dove sono le canne? Le ragazze le han falciate. / E dove sono le ragazze? Hanno preso marito. / E dove sono i mariti? Sono andati in guerra.)

Where have all the flowers gone,
long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone,
long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Gone to young girls, 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?

And 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?

And 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,
oh 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.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?