Flowers are red

By Harry Chapin

“Flowers are red" is a song written by Harry Chapin in 1978. It is a story of a young student and his teacher who have different perspectives on the same subject, a flower. The song tells the story of a little boy on his first day in school. On that first day in school he saw the crayons and then he started to draw pictures of flowers by using many different colors. The teacher told him that he was coloring the flowers all wrong and that he should paint them red and green, “The way they always have been seen.” said the teacher. The boy disagreed with the teacher and said to her “So many colors in a flower and I see every one…” the teacher told him to repeat after her but little boy do not the teacher then punished him by making him stand alone in a corner. Finally, the little boy gave in and told the teacher that “Flowers are red, and green leaves are green…” When he went to another school, he continues mechanically painting flowers red and green. The teacher asked him why and he said “Flowers are red, and green leaves are green…”

This song tells the reader about the conflict of generations and hierarchy in educational system between teacher and student. The song shows the power of teacher has over students, how the teacher can tell her students about what to do, how to do it and how things should be done. As the song says, the teacher teaches her student that flowers should be drawn and paint following her views of their colors, no questions asked. The teacher told the student to colored the flower as red and green and although the little boy identified and painted flowers in a different way this was seen as incorrect by the teacher; the way that he saw flowers was with a variety of colors, in his mind, he compared them to the many colors in rainbow and so he argued

“There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in a flower and I see every one”

When he expressed his thoughts to the teacher, the teacher said to the little boy that he is impudent and she does not accept his thoughts or ideas because she believes in only her own thoughts. She believes that whatever she said is right and that the opinions of the boy and others do not matter. As for her, there is only one way of drawing flowers that is red and green, her way. Therefore, the teacher used her power to punish him by standing him in a corner as purpose him to do like her thoughts. The teacher told the little boy that she would not let him go until he believed in what she told him. The teacher forced the little boy to stand alone in the corner, he felt lonely, humiliated and not part of the class society, so with all these pressures, the boy who was very afraid, capitulated and then he said as the teacher instructed

 “Flowers are red

Green leaves are green

There’s no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they have been seen”

Although in his mind he does not believe this nor liked to say these words he knew that this was the only way could gain his freedom from the corner and join the class society. Finally, his thoughts were changed due to the overpowering force of the respected teacher. The boy became a carbon copy of the teacher because he had no choice. When he move to a new school, he continued to paint flowers as he had been told but his new teacher said to him

“Painting should be fun

And there are so many colors in a flower

So let’s use every one”

However, the little boy had been so indoctrinated by his previous teacher and had lost his artistic side because of the teacher had imposed her beliefs on him, that it is right for her and every one that flowers should be draw only red or green? So, the little boy painted flowers in neat rows of only green and red. The new teacher asked him questioningly why he painted only red and green? He said

“Flowers are red

Green leaves are green

There’s no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they have been seen”

This because the little boy received new thoughts from his teacher and that they replaced his thoughts by forceful submission and he then thinks that is right so he does as he is told and thinks like his old teacher. At last, he loses his ability to have his own thoughts and his imagination, is lost forever.

This song was written and performed by Harry Chapin, an American singer- songwriter, musician, composer arranger author humanitarian and playwright who has well known in folk rock songs. He was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. “Cat's in the Cradle”, his song rose to number one on Billboard's music in December 1974 sold a million copies and has been nominated as the Best Song Grammy Awards. This song glorified by music "This song makes all fathers feel most uncomfortable in history." His songs generally show the limitations of thinking and acting between personal interactions.

This poem is a snapshot of life; people in powerful positions often knowingly or unknowingly impose their thoughts and beliefs on others. People often comply because we all want to belong with the society we live in, do not want to be though as eccentric, odd or even worse stupid.

It is not wrong that students or any human being has different opinions, different perception of seeing or ways of doing something. In art, there is not a single way to create a piece of work, no right or wrong because art is subjective. When you make a piece of art it is created with your emotional and how you feel at that moment in time. For an artist, it does not respond to a practical aspect of life, not a type of productive work in order to support family and society. It responds to a particular need of the human soul. The soul needs to be entertained and satisfied by forms of creation, more than beauty. The forms and the visuals of an artistic work create deep feelings hidden in our subconscious.

This poem is metaphor using a child as an open mind and the teacher as closed mind. Young mind are open to everything and see the world as it really is. As we get older often, our view narrows, we develop prejudices and follow what is convention. An older teacher may try to make their students see the world their way and fit into their idea of a civilized society but not by explanation and debate but by authoritarian actions. Some resist this attempt to force convention on them but many succumb because of fear of the consequences. Young minds are wise old minds are stayed and gained by popular convention.

However, many of the great thinker and inventors always believed in their own thoughts even ridicule and expulsion from their society never coerced them into conforming to the norm. Albert Einstein said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” And another example is “Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth” said Pablo Picasso. These not held by what people want to hear but were free thinkers seeing more than ordinary people not scared to be different. Bob Marley said

 “Who are you to judge the life I live?

I know I'm not perfect

-and I don't live to be-

but before you start pointing fingers...

make sure you hands are clean!”

So we should encourage free thought and accept other people’s interpretations of the world in which we live if we want mankind to grow into a civilized modern society.

References

Harry Chapin (2014). Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Chapin

Harry Chapin (2013). Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%AE%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5_%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99

Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/556030-imagination-is-more-important-than-knowledge-for-knowledge-is-limited

Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/art