Monday, June 04, 2007
Where Have They Gone, Really?
I have a friend who plays this little game with old song titles. He picks a letter of the alphabet, and it is up to him and the rest of us to come up with classic song titles that begin with that letter. Not exactly an intellectual challenge, but a fun memory challenge (especially for those of us whose memories aren't what they used to be).
Last week, it was "W" -- which is fairly challenging as alphabet letters go. After we had gone through the most readily recollected ones -- "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Who Put the Bomp," etc. -- I came up with what seemed another obvious one, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Shockingly, my friend, who is at least thirty years younger than I, hesitated and then said, "I don't know that song."
What? The classic of all classic anti-war folk songs, sung by everyone from Pete Seeger and The Kingston Trio to Bruce Springsteen (I think)? The one that needs to be dragged out even more now that the Iraq 'n' Roil War is showing us that we never learn?
My friend now knows the song, but only through my off-key rendering of it. I guess it just shows that all things pass, not from generation TO generation, but at the close of each generation. (And, if you think that scares the hell out of me, you're right.)
"Gone to flowers every one" means a lot more to me every day closer to the euphemistically named "Gardens of Memory" that we used to call graveyards (where old songs go home and stay buried there, I guess).
Oh, when will they ever learn (again)?
Last week, it was "W" -- which is fairly challenging as alphabet letters go. After we had gone through the most readily recollected ones -- "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Who Put the Bomp," etc. -- I came up with what seemed another obvious one, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Shockingly, my friend, who is at least thirty years younger than I, hesitated and then said, "I don't know that song."
What? The classic of all classic anti-war folk songs, sung by everyone from Pete Seeger and The Kingston Trio to Bruce Springsteen (I think)? The one that needs to be dragged out even more now that the Iraq 'n' Roil War is showing us that we never learn?
My friend now knows the song, but only through my off-key rendering of it. I guess it just shows that all things pass, not from generation TO generation, but at the close of each generation. (And, if you think that scares the hell out of me, you're right.)
"Gone to flowers every one" means a lot more to me every day closer to the euphemistically named "Gardens of Memory" that we used to call graveyards (where old songs go home and stay buried there, I guess).
Oh, when will they ever learn (again)?
