"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is a folk song written by Pete Seeger in 1955 with additional verses added by Joe Hickerson in 1960. It is a powerful anti-war song that uses a circular structure to reflect on the cycle of life, love, war, and death. The song’s lyrics ask rhetorical questions about where the flowers, young girls, husbands, soldiers, and graveyards have gone over time, concluding that the flowers have been picked, the young girls have married, the husbands have gone to war, the soldiers have gone to graveyards, and the graveyards themselves have returned to flowers. This symbolic progression serves as a meditation on the futility of war and the cycle of loss and renewal it causes. It belongs to the "ubi sunt" tradition, which is a literary form reflecting on the transience of life. The song is notable for its subtle yet profound anti-war message, avoiding graphic imagery to powerfully convey the tragedy and cyclical nature of conflict and loss. Pete Seeger was inspired lyrically by a traditional Cossack folk song and borrowed an Irish melody for the music. The song has been widely recognized and covered and remains a poignant reminder of human suffering caused by war as well as the hope embedded in renewal and remembrance.