In their 1961 hit song, Peter, Paul and Mary sang “Where have all the flowers gone?” The folk-singing trio repeated that poignant line consecutively in each verse, and in turn they asked where have the young girls gone, and their husbands, the soldiers, and the graveyards.
During the sixties when that tune reached its height of popularity, it was regarded by many as a protest song which conveyed the pointlessness of war, particular the Vietnam War, but certainly the futility of war in general. Just as the cycle of history repeats itself that haunting melody, although mostly unsung now, is as relevant to the current war that is claiming the lives of U.S. soldiers as it was to the war in Southeast Asia four decades ago.
“When will they ever learn?” is the last haunting line of each verse of the group’s song,
and “When will we ever learn?” concludes the tune. In this twenty-first century, the song easily conveys aspects of current life, where in addition to war, terrorism, and countless other inhumanities of the world there is a loss of societal innocence and civility that begs the question not when, but will we ever learn?”