MM – 1955

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” is a folk song written by American singer-songwriter Pete Seeger in 1955. Inspired lyrically by the traditional Cossack folk song “Koloda-Duda”, Seeger borrowed an Irish melody for the music and published the first three verses in Sing Out! magazine.  Additional verses were added in May 1960 by Joe Hickerson, who turned it into a circular song.  Its rhetorical “where?” and meditation on death place the song in the ubi sunt tradition.  In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of its selections of the “Top 20 Political Songs”.

The 1962 album version of the song was released as part of the Columbia Records Hall of Fame 45 single series in 1965 as 13–33088.  The recording of the song by Pete Seeger was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 in the Folk category with the release year given as 1964 as a Columbia Records single.

Last Modified on May 18, 2026
this article MM – 1955
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viccles
1 day ago

Such a great choice Suzi! I am really loving hearing these old classics again. I really miss that old time harmony that was a music staple. Thanks for posting Suzi!