Flowers Are Red Lyrics

The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and he 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
And 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 sa*sy
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
And 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, and 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, and green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"

Harry Chapin - The Gold Medal Collection

Oct 1990

1. Taxi
2. Sunday Morning Sunshine
3. Old College Avenue
4. Dirty Old Man
5. Tangled Up Puppet
6. Dancing Boy
7. Thanksgiving Hunger Drives
8. Flowers Are Red
9. Winter Song
10. Story Of A Life
11. Commitment & Pete Seeger
12. There Was Only One Choice
13. Mail Order Annie
14. Performing
15. W*O*L*D*
16. Corey's Coming
17. A Child Is Born
18. Sniper
19. Calluses
20. The Rock
21. Danceband On The Titanic
22. I Wonder What Would Happen To This World
23. Sequel
24. My Grandfather
25. Remember When The Music (Reprise)