Though not of my generation, below are songs by
The Brothers Four. My mum would play one of their albums on the old stereo set when I was growing up, and some of the songs' tunes and lyrics (once I understood them) remain stuck in my head to this day. Even with a child's limited vocabulary, just the tune alone of the songs below evoked melancholic nostalgia and unexplained feelings of déjà vu. The lyrics are a poignant reminder of the passage of time and memories of happier days.
In the first song,
Greenfields, the composer laments the past, yearning to be with the one he loves once more.
Tl;dw
Once there were greenfields
Kissed by the sun
Once there were valleys where rivers used to run
Once there were blue skies with white clouds high above
Once they were part of an everlasting love
We were the lovers
Who strolled through greenfields
Greenfields are gone now
Parched by the sun
Gone from the valleys where rivers used to run
Gone with the cold wind that swept into my heart
Gone with the lovers who let their dreams depart
Where are the greenfields that we used to roam?
I'll never know what made you run away
How can I keep searching when dark clouds hide the day
(Oh) I only know there's nothing here for me
Nothing in this wide world
Left for me to see
But I'll keep on waiting
Till you return
I'll keep on waiting until the day you learn
You can't be happy while your heart's on a roam
You can't be happy until you bring it home
Home to the greenfields and me once again
The second song
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, originally composed by Pete Seeger, is an anti-war song. Seeger's lyrics show how war and suffering can be cyclical in nature: girls pick flowers, men pick girls, men go to war and fill graves with their dead which get covered with flowers (
source).
Tl;dw
Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone for husbands everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Where have all the husbands gone, long time passing?
Where have all the husbands gone, long time ago?
Where have all the husbands gone?
Gone for soldiers everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, 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, everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?
The folk song
Five Hundred Miles is also worth a mention.
Tl;dw
If you miss the train I'm on
You will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two
Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four
Lord, I'm 500 miles away from home
Away from home, away from home
Away from home, away from home
Lord, I'm 500 miles away from home
Not a shirt on my back
Not a penny to my name
Lord, I can't go back home this a-way
This a-way, this a-way
This a-way, this a-way
Lord, I can't go back home this a-way
If you miss the train I'm on
You will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles...