The anti-war anthem, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" was a hit recording in 1962 for Marlene Dietrich (1901- 1992) and also for the band, The Kingston Trio.
There have been literally hundreds of recordings since from different performers and in many different languages. Notably, in English from Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, The Countrymen, Johnny Rivers, and Dolly Parton.
Message of Peace
The song’s universal message, "let there be peace in the world" did not get lost in translations. To the contrary, the combination of language, setting, melody and great lyrics has had a profound effect on people all around the world, and is just as relevant today.
Pete Seeger's Inspiration
In the 50s, American folk singer Pete Seeger (1919 - ) often sang at college concerts. In 1958, en route to one of these concerts, on the plane, he had his inspiration for "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?". Seeger pulled out his pocket-size song notebook and as he recalls, "Leafing through it, I came across three lines I'd written down, oh, at least a year or two before”. Seeger had read a novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, And Quiet Flows the Don, where he noted the three lines came from a Ukrainian folk song.
Pete Seeger adapted his new lyrics to an existing tune, a lumberjack version of "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill". With only three verses, he recorded it once in a medley on a Rainbow Quest album in 1960, and forgot about it. Joe Hickerson later added verses four and five.
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-born American actress, singer and entertainer. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performances brought her international fame and a contract with Paramount Pictures in the USA. She became a US citizen in 1939.
“Flowers” was first performed in French by Marlene at a UNICEF concert in Paris in 1962. She also recorded the song in German, English and French (in that order). Available are original sound recordings that can be listened to in each language, together with accompanying respective lyrics (Figs 1 - 3).
Max Colpet first heard Marlene perform the song in its original version at the Olympia, Paris and immediately translated it from French into German. His translation was a masterpiece of transforming the spirit of the song into another language.
"Flowers" German Song Version a Hit
Pete Seeger and Joe Hickerson are credited as co-writers of "Where have all the flowers gone?". Marlene Dietrich was the first performer of the song and recorded it in different languages. The German version by Max Coplet became Marlene’s biggest hit after the war - if not in her entire career.
The reader may be interested in another song's story Lili Marleen a Most Famous Melody in the World, or Happy Birthday Mr President.
Harry P. Schlanger - Hello, I started out as a physicist working for research organisations. Mostly in the area of heat transfer in solids and porous media. ...
