Artist & Tune
Version by Pete Seeger
Version by Arlo Guthrie
Version by Peter Paul & Mary
Version by The Kingston Trio
Version by Joan Baez
Version by Marlene Dietrich
Version by Earth Wind & Fire
Version by Steve Earle
Version by David Roth
Version by Dolly Parton
Version by Eliza Gilkyson
Reference
About the Song
Pete describes the history of this song in detail in his musical autobiography Where Have All the Flowers Gone: A Singalong Memoir. When he was blacklisted, Pete frequently performed at progressive college campuses. In 1955 he was on his way to do a concert at Oberlin College and found a slip of paper in his pocket with 3 lines from the Soviet novel All Quiet on the Western Front. He wrote the song on the plane and tried it out at that concert. The song pretty much disappeared until Joe Hickerson (who was at Oberlin at the time) taught the song to his campers at Camp Woodland in the Catskills. His version got picked up by Peter, Paul & Mary and the Kingston Trio picked it up from PP&M. The Kingston Trio assumed it was a traditional song.