Harry Chapin - Flowers Are Red video free download


147,339
Duration: 04:31
Uploaded: 2011/07/09

"The little boy went first day of school

He got some crayons and started to draw

He put colors all over the paper

For colors was what he saw

And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man

I'm paintin' flowers he said

She said... It's not the time for art young man

And anyway flowers are green and red

There's a time for everything young man

And a way it should be done

You've got to show concern for everyone else

For you're not the only one

And she said...

Flowers are red young man

Green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than they way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...

There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in the flower and I see every one

Well the teacher said.. You're sassy

There's ways that things should be

And you'll paint flowers the way they are

So repeat after me.....

And she said...

Flowers are red young man

Green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than they way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...

There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in the flower and I see every one

The teacher put him in a corner

She said.. It's for your own good..

And you won't come out 'til you get it right

And are responding like you should

Well finally he got lonely

Frightened thoughts filled his head

And he went up to the teacher

And this is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen

Time went by like it always does

And they moved to another town

And the little boy went to another school

And this is what he found

The teacher there was smilin'

She said...Painting should be fun

And there are so many colors in a flower

So let's use every one

But that little boy painted flowers

In neat rows of green and red

And when the teacher asked him why

This is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen. "

/Lyrics from The Harry Chapin Archive at Harrychapin.com\

Comments

9 years ago

Flourchilid

Right here you've got the best argument against standardized testing.

9 years ago

Matthew Seabrook

No this song symbolizes Bullying and Harry Chapin knew it and he tried to get people to realize what they were doing to children and no one saw

9 years ago

can2ej6

i think this song symbolizes what a job can to a person

9 years ago

stanphries

I learned this song in elementary school from the best music teacher ever, David Root. I didn't know that it was Harry Chapin until I saw Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Aside from the echoes in my head, I probably hadn't heard this in 25 years.

9 years ago

shesnailie .

Memories of this, 'Why Do Little Girls' and 'Somebody Said' pouring from Mum's tape recorder in the kitchen back in the '70s...

9 years ago

ravinprophin

Thumbs up if you watched Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee ;)

9 years ago

mrsbrown333

i was lucky to have a dad who said 'see all the colours!" 

9 years ago

J. Schoenborn

Definitely! What ever happened to individualism? Reminds me of a time when I came home from school my first day of 1st grade (Lemme tell ya, I was pretty happy, ya know? Glad to be outta kindergarten and meeting new people and that good stuff) absolutely crushed. Told my mom what happened and she had a talk with my teacher. Apparently what happened was that when I went shopping for my "school supply list", I had gotten **gasp** generic brand markers instead of Crayola brand markers. The reasoning why by my 1st grade teacher: "Well, everyone has to have Crayola brand markers. WE (emphasis on the "WE") can't have anyone who's different from the others because it might give other children ideas."

9 years ago

Nathanielle Crawford

Comedians in Cars turned me on to this song. This song could have easily been my elementary school sound track and it makes me wonder what Harry Chapin thinks of school now. I'm really afraid for kids now.

10 years ago

Thex Dar

*Flowers Are Red*by *Harry Chapin*One more great song from Harry this morning....It talks about how the imagination and creativity of a young one can be crushed by a stay inside the box kind of minded teacher... I am one who believes in teaching a child to want to learn and not to just memorize ...*________________________*Nuff out of me...#MusicWithThex 

10 years ago

Daniel Mills

School is the place where inspiration goes to die.

10 years ago

Michele Silvers

Never heard this version with just Harry singing. It is nice. I wish the Lord would have shared him longer with the world. His insights about people and the world should not be forgotten.

10 years ago

R Siel

This happened to me in a silly sort of way in Kindergarten.....

10 years ago

Pat Lennon

Harry Chapin is beyond genius...Apply this to Obama's joke of a socialistic concept called Obamacare...Wisdom trumps knowledge every single time :)

10 years ago

pogospace

Should be on the walls of classrooms.

10 years ago

John Getchell

flowers are red and green leaves are green theres no need to see flowers any other way then the way they always have been seen

10 years ago

Jesse Smith

yea show alot of truth in this song

10 years ago

Childofpraise2Yahweh

So goes to show how school narrows our imagination and puts us in tiny boxes ......beautiful to see such truth put to music

10 years ago

captainsoul1953

what a lovely song this is

10 years ago

Toonrocker77

Flowers are red, young man.

Related Videos