Where have all the vegetables gone?

[nineveh_uk]

My middle school had long assembly three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I quite enjoyed assembly, which wasn't that long even in its long format, and one got to sing. I did not, however, like all the hymns. Top of my "most hated" list was Where Have All the Flowers Gone. To this day I get irritated when hearing pre-pubescent female humans blamed for the first World War.

Nonetheless, when I opened the fridge tonight and discovered that the only green veg I possessed was a couple of leeks, I had to accept that the answer was that I had eaten them. I'm not sure how this happened, as there was a fair amount there on Saturday and I am not the sort of person who considers raw broccoli a delicious snack. But apparently it has. I don't mind leeks. Leeks are OK, particularly baked, but even raw. But I was looking for the courgette that was supposed to be in there.

Comments

[penguineggs.livejournal.com]

I thought the young girls gave them to the men going off to war in the first verse though even so it's still not "Where have all the snowy owls gone? Girls plucked their feathers every one."

[azdak.livejournal.com]

I alwas assumed it worked on a circular principle of "Where are the flowers? - Look where the girls are - Where are the girls? - Look where the men are - Where are the men? - Oh, look, that's where the flowers are (in fact, that's where everybody is, girls included)" so I never thought of the flowers as being given to the men to encourage them to fight. It was more that the men dragged everything else after them. But I think the intention was probably to evoke as many flower/war resonances as possible (rather than, pace nineveh_uk, to scold the young for profligate picking of daisies).

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

"Will no-one think of the snowy owls?"

But anyone who had to sing "Who can, what can, we can, you can?"* at primary school was primed to be insulted.

*To the worst tune imaginable: Who can, what can, we can, you can?
Who can, what can, we can, you can?
Who can, what can, we can, you can?
We can serve the Lord!

Haven't got much money
Haven't got much talent
But the things we have got, we shall give to him!

(Repeat first stanza)

We did not have much money, being pocket-money dependent. But we disagreed re. talent and didn't see why we should bother serving the Lord, since he clearly didn't think much of us. Also, J's mother was a Socialist Worker.

[penguineggs.livejournal.com]

Obviously the bald owls once the young girls had plucked their feathers to give to the young men who declined to go to war.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I am not sure that I see a snowy owl being held down long enough to be plucked.