Flowers

Decora
2014

The hip-hop artist Decora hails from Newburgh, New York, just across the Hudson River from Beacon, where Pete Seeger made his home up until his death in 2014.  .  Seeger took Decora on as a mentee, connecting the younger artist with Clearwater’s music festival, the Great Hudson River Revival, and encouraging Decora’s activist inclinations.

Seeger’s 1955 song Where Have All the Flowers Gone examines the impacts of war on communities.  In Flowers, Decora takes that feeling of community loss and eventual rejuvenation to examine the interconnectedness of human activities, the environment, and social ills.

The piece ends with a sample of the haunting refrain of Seeger’s recording:

When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?