Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" is a song intrinsically associated with the US folkie Pete Seeger. Which novel was a source for the song?

Answer: And Quiet Flows the Don

Seeger had read Mikhail Sholokhov's 'And Quiet Flows the Don' and noted a reference to the lines "Where are the flowers?, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls?, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men?, they're all in the army", attributed to a Ukrainian folk song. 'And Quiet Flows the Don' was written in 1934 and is an epic tale of Cossack life in the years leading up to WWI.

The book has been filmed three times, the most recent in 1993, and was the basis of an opera. Mikhail Sholokhov was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1945.

2. "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" has been recorded many times by many different artistes. Which was the first group to have a chart hit with the song?

Answer: The Kingston Trio

Their version reached number 21 in the US charts in 1962. The Kingstons recorded it the day after they heard Peter Paul and Mary sing it in concert. PP&M included it on their eponymous first album, which was a huge hit, charting in the Billboard Top 10 for 10 months.

3. A European singer made an early recording of "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?", singing in French. Who was that singer?

Answer: Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich first sang the song in French, as "Qui peut dire vont les fleurs?" in 1962. It also had an big impact when she sang it in German:
"Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind,
wo sind sie geblieben?
Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind,
was ist geschehn?
Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind,
M�dchen pfl�ckten sie geschwind.
Wann wird man je verstehn,
wann wird man je verstehn?"

4. In 1972, a band more usually associated with soul and funk music included "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" on a studio album. What was the name of that band?

Answer: Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire released 'Days And Time' as their first album on the CBS label. It consisted mostly of original songs, plus "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" and "Make It With You", which had earlier been a hit for Bread.

5. The first version of the song "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" was written by the US folkie Pete Seeger. Who shares the writing credits with him?

Answer: Joe Hickerson

Quoted in 'How Can I Keep From Singing?', by David King Dunaway, Seeger recalled: "When I came out to Camp Woodland the next time, I gave the words to a counselor, Joe Hickerson, and he sang it with his kids. That gave it more rhythm." Hickerson added two verses and set up the pattern of repeating the first verse at the end. [Woodland is a Christian camp and retreat centre in West Georgia].

Interestingly, although Seeger's politics were Communist -and he was blacklisted for them during the McCarthy era - he found inspiration for many songs from the Bible and Christian teachings. Examples include "Turn, Turn Turn" and "My Father's Mansions".

6. "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" is one of the most famous songs associated with the American folkie Pete Seeger. In 'How Can I Keep From Singing?', an authorised biography by David King Dunaway, Seeger recalled the circumstances in which he started the process that led to the creation of the song. What were those circumstances?

Answer: On his way to a concert by plane

Seeger, like many songwriters, frequently jotted ideas down in a notebook as they occurred to him for potential use in songs. In 'How Can I Keep From Singing?', Seeger recalled taking out his notebook on a plane: "Leafing through it, I came across three lines I'd written down, oh, at least a year or two before: 'Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men, they're all in the army.'".

He added to these words the phrase "long time passing" which he had carried around in his head for several years and had never got around to using.

7. The words of "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" were put to an original tune written by Pete Seeger.

Answer: False

Seeger has said: "I took a tune, a lumberjack version of 'Drill Ye Tarriers Drill': it was as unconscious as Woody [Guthrie] using 'Goodnight Irene' as the tune for 'Roll On Columbia.' " [Source: 'How Can I Keep From Singing?', by David King Dunaway, an authorised biography]

8. Which artistes sang "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" on a tribute album of Pete Seeger songs released in 1998?

Answer: Tommy Sands and Dolores Keane

The Irish singers Tommy Sands and Dolores Keane were joined by the Bosnian cellist Vederan Smailovic and a choir of Protestant and Catholic children from Belfast for a truly haunting version of the song.
The others mentioned also sang on the album, which was entitled, naturally, "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?"

9. Fill in the missing line from Pete Seeger's 1956 original version of "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?": "Where have all the young men gone? ------------------ When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?"

Answer: They're all in uniform

'Gone for soldiers every one' is now the accepted line in the song, but when Pete first wrote the words he had 'They're all in uniform'. [Source: 'How Can I Keep From Singing?' by David King Dunaway, Harrap Books 1983, an authorised biography.]

10. Peter Seeger has recorded and sung "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" many times. On which of his albums did it first appear?

Answer: The Rainbow Quest

In the authorised biography, 'How Can I Keep From Singing?', David King Dunaway noted: "At first the song seemed too short to be serviceable, with only three verses. Pete sang it once in a medley of short tunes (released on a fascinating though obscure disc 'The Rainbow Quest') and then forgot about it." 'The Rainbow Quest' was released in 1960 on the Folkways label.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

"Where have all the flowers gone?, long time passing..." The opening words of Pete Seeger's inspirational song. Here are ten questions in the latest in my 'Story Of A Song' series. Major source: 'How Can I Keep From Singing?', by David King Dunaway.

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