“Where have all the young men gone?” (11)

Memorial Day, Uncategorized 1 Minute

(11th in a series of posts on Memorial Day)

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 for 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?

Thank you Gadfly, Dana, and Peter for reminding us that Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and that war leaves loss and anguish in its wake. I am reminded of lyrics from Pete Seeger’s timeless song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone: When will they ever learn ? When will they ever learn?”

Barbara Diamond

Will you sing along wherever you are right now? Please?

Performed by Pete Seeger

Here performed by Peter, Paul and Mary

Which was just an excuse to hear Mary Travers again. Gadfly is still in love with Mary Travers. Now you know all his secrets.

Gadfly wonders where all the folk singers have gone who, in the “old days,” made us feel the pain of war and social injustice and political bunglings — and brought us together in the act of community singing. Is there not a new generation?

Published by The Bethlehem Gadfly

Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem immigrant, retired, nearly 50 years as Professor of American Literature at Lehigh University, known as "Dr. G" and "Conan the Grammarian" to students, whose virtual world avatar "EdwardScholarhands" stares at you here, has reinvented himself as the Bethlehem Gadfly.

Published

3 thoughts on ““Where have all the young men gone?” (11)”

  2. Or our locally grown singer songwriter, Sam Steffen, who writes such moving lyrics (and funny songs, too, but he’s a true poet!)… Like The Ballad of Trayvon Martin, or this one: https://samsteffen.bandcamp.com/track/the-new-jim-crow
    You can find him on his bandcamp page. And he sings at Godfrey’s periodically. Some of his songs are hilarious, others just deeply moving, but social justice is a common theme…

  3. Gadfly — You only have to look at the lineup for Godfrey Daniels to find a new generation of folk singers (as well as some from the previous generation) from all around the country. And quite a few from the LV, including Sam.

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