The first time I realized that music had rhetorical value was when I was probably nine or ten years old on a road trip with my family. We were in our old suburban, and the radio wasn’t working. My dad had only brought one cassette tape on the trip, so we were all overexposed to The Kingston Trio for a few days. The song that stuck with me was the trio’s version of Pete Seeger’s 1955 song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” I was enthralled with the story it told and the sorrow I felt when I realized what the song meant. My "virtual experience" with this song felt like it was a progression from happiness to sadness, innocence to experience, life to death, and, of course, a commentary on war (Sellnow, 2017, p. 174). Applying the elements of musical rhetoric to this song has given it even more significance for me.
I have gone through the song with Sellnow’s paralinguistic cues and intensity and release patterns in mind, along with Langer’s Illusion of Life Perspective to see how they helped me understand the significance of this song. I have included my interpretation below of how the lyrics were sung in this version of the song.
Where have all the flowers gone? (all three melody)
Long time passing. (all three melody)
Where have all the flowers gone? (all three melody)
Long time ago. (all three melody)
Where have all the flowers gone? (all three melody)
Young girls have picked them every one. (single voice-female)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody)
Where have all the young girls gone? (single voice-female)
Long time passing. (all three harmony)
Where have all the young girls gone? (single voice-female)
Long time ago. (all three harmony)
Where have all the young girls gone? (single voice-female)
Gone for husbands every one. (single voice-female)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three harmony)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three harmony)
Where have all the husbands gone? (all three melody)
Long time passing. (all three melody)
Where have all the young men gone? (all three melody)
Long time ago. (all three melody)
Where have all the young men gone? (all three melody)
Gone for soldiers everyone. (single voice-female)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody)
Where have all the soldiers gone? (all three dissonance, draws out/emphasizes soldiers)
Long time passing. (all three dissonance and resolve)
Where have all the soldiers gone? (all three dissonance, draws out/emphasizes soldiers)
Long time ago. (all three dissonance and resolve)
Where have all the soldiers gone? (all three dissonance, draws out/emphasizes soldiers, quiet)
Gone to graveyards every one. (single male, sung gently)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (two males melody)
Where have all the graveyards gone? (single female)
Long time passing. (all three dissonance)
Where have all the graveyards gone? (single female-stronger)
Long time ago. (all three dissonance and resolve)
Where have all the graveyards gone? (single female with males “oh” in the background)
Gone to flowers every one. (single female with males “oh” in the background-louder)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three harmony)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody, one male goes down at the end, softer)
Where have all the flowers gone? (all three melody, quiet)
Long time passing. (all three melody, quiet)
Where have all the flowers gone? (all three melody, quiet)
Long time ago. (all three melody, quiet)
Where have all the flowers gone? (all three melody, quiet)
Young girls have picked them every one. (all three melody, quiet)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody, quiet)
Oh, when will they ever learn? (all three melody, quiet)
The choices the trio makes as far as singing altogether, singing certain lines solo and certain lines in a duet seem to demonstrate meaning and what they intend the audience to feel or interpret when they hear this version of the song.
By sticking with the melody only in verses one and three, it feels as though The Kingston Trio is attempting to “symbolize [these] life experiences” as some that are common for just about everyone (Sellnow, 2017, p. 172). The harmony in the second verse could reflect the emotions that surround the phase in life when someone gets married. The intensity patterns of dissonance in verses four and five could represent what it feels like to experience loss, while the release patterns of harmony in the final question in both verses answers that loss is simply a part of life. The final verse in a quiet melody almost also serves as a release pattern as it seems like an acceptance of the cycle of life: the joy, triumph, loss, and sadness. The emphasis on "soldiers" in the fourth verse feels like a paralinguistic cue, drawing the listener's attention to this one specific word.
Other versions of this song have used “you” or “we” in the final two line refrain of each verse, instead of “they.” By using “they,” The Kingston Trio actually separates themselves from the events they are singing about, which is almost ironic because the lyrics represent the human condition, but “they” removes the singers from that shared experience. Perhaps borrowing someone else’s lyrics makes a singer feel disconnected from them and the emotion the lyrics intend to represent. Do you feel more connected with a songwriter who writes their own lyrics?
Sellnow, D. D. (2017). The rhetorical power of popular culture: Considering mediated texts. SAGE Publications.
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