Pete Seeger — When I Was Most Beautiful

When I was most beautiful Cities were falling And from unexpected places Blue sky was seen When I was most beautiful People around me were killed And for paint and powder I lost the chance When I was most beautiful Nobody gave me kind gifts Men knew only to salute And went away When I was most beautiful My country lost the war I paraded the main street With my blouse sleeves rolled high When I was most beautiful Jazz overflowed the radio; I broke the prohibition against smoking; Sweet music of another land! When I was most beautiful I was most unhappy I was quite absurd I was quite lonely That's why I decided to live long Like Monsieur Rouault Who was a Very old man When he painted such terribly beautiful pictures You see...?