Sesame Street - Sad flower film

Here is the very famous flower film with Vivaldi music played in the background. Specifically, it is Guitar Concerto in D Major, 2nd Movement by Antonio Vivaldi. This was pulled so I'm posting it from my collection. I've always loved this one and it brings back memories for me of watching this when I got home from kindergarten (1973-1974). Anyone care to comment about exactly what this segment is telling us? The beautiful music really makes the segment for me. A very great and nostalgic Sesame street film. Special thanks to Sesame Street Workshop for allowing me to post this here. All copyrights and profits for ALL Sesame Street segments belong to them!

[@cindys1969]

It never fails, this piece haunted me....for years and years...I remember being no more than 4 years old and sitting in front of the TV and hearing this for the first time; watching. I began to cry. My mother asked me why I was crying and I told her it was the music. I said, it hurts. From then on I have loved music- this piece still chokes me up. I have used music as my inspiration to write and create. I has been my friend and comfort. I am forever thankful for music. Vivaldi's piece....will always be one of my all time favorites

[@raduysya5634]

Me too, all of that.

[@riagl153]

wow- exactly the same for me!

[@orionvonwalker1431]

i am touched by your words

[@upinvermont3064]

Here too. I was just telling my daughter about this video, hearing it played on the radio. Even now, at 51, I think of the weeping flower when I hear this music. I decided to Google it, just out of curiosity, and here it is. I cried all over again --- like having a piece of my childhood magically returned to me.

[@krambo4474]

I can't believe there is someone out there who is even remotely able to relate to this exactly as you did just blows my mind.

[@lisabunnie22960]

2023..I'm now 56 ...and I'm still SOBBING OUT LOUD. One little flower broke so many hearts. 😭💔😭

[@saeriellyn]

Haven't seen this in two decades and yet recognized it instantly. What a testimony to the power of music and imagery and the permanent place Sesame Street has in so many hearts. This clip is a perfect example of what the show did so right back then that it completely fails to do now - the inclusion of random tidbits of artistry, not because they "fit in" with some overarching theme of the day or shilled for certain popular characters, but simply because the creators thought kids were capable of paying attention to moments of beauty and peace just as raptly as they did to muppet shenanigans and animated clips. For many, Sesame Street served as their first introduction to great art, classical music, and a world beyond their city block. Kids still love the show and its characters, so they must still be doing something right, but I miss the sophistication and raw creativity of early Sesame.

[@TheMediaHoarder]

Not to mention that this sort of thing would be ruined today by constant station logos on the screen as well as that "E/I" bug!

[@MothraBlues]

That's cos they just said "YES", y'know. Yes.

[@Brinah]

So aptly put!

[@byronharano2391]

You are impacted too? Nice. Haunting visual matched perfectly to this music master piece. Sesame Street for me also.

[@robertjirava942]

Yes, I know. Authentic artistic expression really fell by the wayside in this and other programs. I think it's because of the de-emphasis of the individual, the rise of identity politics and the banishing of love from public life

[@ruschilders5356]

I am 57 and remember this from first grade in 1969...we watched at school and I was moved to tears, not exactly knowing why other than it likely being my first exposure to classical music. I heard it tonight for the first time in over 50 years, again moved to tears. What a testimony to the power of music and the memory of a small child. I was surprised at how many had the same reaction to this short bit of video and music. I look forward to sharing this with my soon to be two year old granddaughter. A true glimpse of light in a very dark time in the world.

[@peskylisa]

I remember seeing this as a child and feeling so melancholy. God, I'm glad I'm not the only one who cried at this!

[@sha11235]

Me neither. I thought I might've been taking the thing too seriously or was just nuts.

[@mikebasil4832]

@@sha11235 I know how both of you feel. Especially when it comes to sad things for a kid to see on TV.

[@sha11235]

@@mikebasil4832 I think it's just that a kid wouldn't be familiar with this music and not get the beauty of it. I wonder if they got a lot of complaints over this stuff.

[@mikebasil4832]

@@sha11235 I can think of some cases when they must have. I’m just grateful for all the nice memories that a kids’ show can still give us.

[@inthepit1968]

Oh man THIS piece. Killed me when I was little. Still does.

[@ceceliahemingwaymorrell8672]

I have been looking for this piece for years. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard, even though it made me cry. I'd given up hope of ever hearing it again. Who knew Sesame Street was was exposing us inner city kids to Vivaldi! Beautiful! At least now I can listen to it whenever I want.

[@mstatz]

Although I posted this over a year ago, I still get an eerie feeling watching and hearing this. Early faint memories of 1973 and kindergarten come back to me! The music hits me 10 times harder than the picture.

[@suzilindblad5207]

I was in kindergarten in 1973 too. So you and i most likely sat watching this at the same time💗

[@chicolopez8722]

I saw this when 1st on tv.think it 1974

[@byronharano2391]

Blessings to you. Common experiences my dear friend. Enjoy life

[@russellziske7385]

Tell me Vivaldi didn’t know pain.

[@carlos31302]

So sad and beautiful. I watched this clip as a kid in 1974 and it would make me cry. The brave little flower growing in a hostile and ugly world and yet it thrives without any help from man. It just simply exists for a moment and then it's gone. We all are here for a while just like the flower and we'll be gone also. Thanks for my life Lord.

[@jennifermoir500]

Yes. ♥️

[@sha11235]

Sort of like a nice person living in Donald Trump's America.

[@hkarl3658]

@@sha11235 sad you have reduced your one life in this world to such things.

[@WorthlessDeadEnd]

*Isaiah 40:8;* _"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."_

[@sha11235]

@@hkarl3658 I haven't. I just thought it was a relevant thing to say.

[@agoogleuser9218]

Almost 50 years later and I still cry when I hear this. Such a beautiful song and visual.

[@roninmastershinto69]

Vivaldi Guitar Concerto 5 ❤

[@TheRealCortxVortx]

I'm amazed that so many others had the same experience with this piece that I did. I was four when this segment aired in '73-'74 and that was the very first time in my life I was moved to tears by music. And so began my lifelong love of guitar. A big thank you to Vivaldi and Sesame Street.

[@Helwog]

This is so simple and so beautiful - I am 45 yrs old and I can remember when this aired on Sesame St in the 1970's ...I remember tearing up watching it. The feelings and emotions from the video and the chosen song are so powerful. There is nothing on TV today that even comes close to this. In nearly every comment on here, people are all saying the same thing. Days gone by I guess....too bad, the world needs simple beauty like this again -

[@Salineddi]

I feel the exact same way. Look at us, all these little kids in the 70s, being moved to tears in front of the TV. Such an emotional memory of my childhood.

[@fhhfgj]

Nina Catanese I cried too! That's a good sign when you let things of beauty affect you.

[@robertjirava942]

The beauty will come back again. Sadly, there is first going to be a lot of suffering before that day can return. This is the hopeless cycle we are doomed to repeat

[@raduysya5634]

As a small kid I used to imagine the flower crying (the dripping water was the tears) because it was so isolated and lonely, the only bit of life that it was aware of in a sea of concrete stretching to the horizon. Hearing this Vivaldi piece on the radio made me weep as an older kid, years later. Around high school I thought back and recognized it as more likely a commentary on the beauty and persistence of life or awesomeness of scale or something, but by that time (long before KZbin) I had no way of finding the segment or even identifying the music without going around to classical music lovers and asking them what piece goes, "Doo, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo..."

[@jondickinson5623]

I like to think of myself a strong stoic, But seeing and hearing this is a challenge to keep my emotions in check.

[@jamesgorski7551]

That's the human in all of us.

[@jeromedinchong5278]

❤ This is one of the most beautiful and sublime pieces I have ever heard.This music has been in my head everyday since as a child.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@roninmastershinto69]

Vivaldi Guitar Concerto in D Major ❤

[@bessrapp8290]

My mother died when I was three. This gave me great comfort.

[@captainfantastic9158]

So sorry for that tragic loss. I hope this beautiful piece helps with what memories you may have of her. 💔❤

[@byronharano2391]

😢🌹

[@The_Rifster]

😭😭😭💔

[@lovelyliza1905]

I feel you. Mom mom died when I was nine. My dad at sixteen. Listening to this song reminds me of a time when things were ok, it makes me cry every time and it soothes my soul. God Bless You. ❤️

[@nikkawej2.028]

So sorry for your loss. This beautiful film and song bring comfort to me as well

[@SpukiTheLoveKitten75]

IMHO, this is the most beautiful rendition. The right tempo & everything. And yes...it tugged my heartstrings.

[@Druffmaul]

SpukiTheLoveKitten75 Totally agree. For 30 years I've been looking for a pristine copy of this exact rendition. My hopes are always dashed when I hear a different version, the interpretation never matches this one.

[@MuzikJunky]

@@Druffmaul, I have a feeling it’s on Nonesuch/Elektra, but I could be wrong. Peace.

[@jenlcb]

I have thought about this film for years. I was also 3 or 4 when it first aired, and I distinctly remember getting up one morning and lying on the couch watching Sesame Street. This clip came on and I watched the whole thing, crying the whole time (it was about flowers and trees crying) and when it was over, I ran to my parents' room where my mom was still sleeping. I woke her up, crying, and needed to cuddle with her. She asked why I was crying and all I could say was, "Sesame Street was sad!" She totally didn't get it, and all she wanted to do was sleep in, but she cuddled me and made me feel better.

[@sanjayarman]

Amazing how it reached you at such a young age. Nice that you were able to share your emotions with your Mom. This clip had a tremendous effect on me as well when I was a little child. ~ Dr. Sanjay Kumar

[@sha11235]

@@sanjayarman I wonder how many parents had to comfort their sad kids with this. Wonder if some got so pissed off they complained to the show.

[@lovelyliza1905]

@@sha11235 I certainly hope they didn’t complain. There is sadness in this world. This is a great way to introduce children to emotions, to feelings, to compassion.

[@kristineapodaca3173]

@@sha11235 This was one of the first times I remember wanting to cry so badly but trying not to show it so my mom wouldn't ask me why I was crying.

[@sha11235]

@@lovelyliza1905 Today there would be too many complaints to begin with. You don't like it, turn it off. Use the British approach to censorship.

[@Salineddi]

This made me bawl as a little kid. But I never wanted it to end; the music, the imagery, both were so beautiful to me.

[@wayevy4Jesus630219632002]

still makes me cry now because i miss the pure love that people had for one another back then....people are more evil,heartless,unloving,selfish,hateful,ungrateful as the bible says would happen.....my heart is so broken right now :'(

[@jjobie]

***** You don't really remember what things were like in the 60s and 70s, then. Things were pretty horrific, and a lot of things were MUCH worse than they are now.

[@ESolo]

Sounds like your words are a reflection of your own heart.

[@daveshruga6088]

Today is the first day of Spring of 2014. This video is so beautiful and enchanting to many of us as children who saw this on Sesame Street in the 1970's. For over 30 years I searched for this song and who created it. Out of luck and chance I found it was Antonio Vivaldi, and looked for it on this site....and found this beloved video. I burst into tears of joy and was taken back to being 5 years old watching this beautiful video in my child hood home in Detroit, MI during the Spring when it was aired. Now, I have tears of joy welling in my eyes and a warmth that surrounds myself after viewing this video and hearing this beautiful song. I send this as a tribute to my father Ben who passed away 16 years ago on March 12th.This song is one of memory and peace. This song is blessing from the angels and spirits who surround us. May you enjoy this song and share it with your loved ones to create the same warmth it had created within us all after we viewed it for the first time in our youth or recently.

[@AgentOrange859]

My country was ten years behind in sesame street. I envy you for seeing it in the seventies, but then again, i was an infant in the eighties. This was the first time i heard the plucking of guitar strings. I still have those flowers growing outside too lol that's how much i loved this clip.

[@robertjirava942]

I can clearly recall when I first heard this Vivaldi piece when I was a child. Immediately I was filled with emotion that it transmitted to my heart just as surely as copper wire transmits electricity. I understood and marveled at the beauty of everything: of the flower nurtured by the warm sun and the morning dew, of the fragrance of our own garden, the love of my mother and of the metaphor of the flower. The flower in its brief season means our lives are too short, and this dawned on me even as a child. Of course the understanding of the briefness of life becomes clearer with time. The choice of this piece by Vivaldi infuses the film with meaning, which is mourning of the passage of time. We all wish we could live longer, but wouldn't prolonging life also make the goodbye all the more difficult? Life is sweet. The relentless pursuit of truth and beauty helps us to savor it.

[@Brinah]

+Robert Jirava Very nice.

[@robertdantona7952]

+Robert Jirava I went searching for this song and video clip only remembering everything you described in your comment. I couldn't have stated it better than you did. I felt all the same things as a five year old that you decribed. I am forty years old now and this transported me back to 1980. What a great revalation. I never bothered to look at the composer or research this until it popped into my brain this morning. I knew the music and hummed it perfectly in tune and was so blown away how flawless it has stayed with me after not hearing it for thirty five years. Life IS beautiful... great post.

[@THXx1138]

@@robertdantona7952 and I am crying again reading your response to Robert J's beautiful comment. To see your heart here, as it was when we were just beginning this life journey, a confirmation for me that pure good and beautiful things truly are eternally with us. Thank you so much for sharing that.

[@robertjirava942]

@@robertdantona7952 Yes. Music is powerful and incredible. Yet a beautiful musical score is a living thing, and it survives as though poured into a vessel by the composer who was aiming to preserve his emotions - from his day hundreds of years ago - and sealed up tightly inside a cage of meticulous ink strokes in order to withstand a long voyage. By revisiting, reading, learning, practicing - often with years of dedicated training and passion - and playing the score with skill and feeling, those living emotions leap out from the vessel and are successfully retransmitted to posterity's listener, as a djinni emerges from a bottle ready to grant wishes. I feel the same thing when I listen to Mozart. I feel the same thing when I listen to Dvorak. Music is a vehicle for conveying emotion across countless centuries. What else can this be but a miracle? It confirms we are only partly rational creatures. Music, wine, stories and spirituality cause life to radiate a steady glow; hearing music of this sort is the time when Apollo and Dionysus dine pleasantly together.

[@r.6731]

I really love this. This short little film holds so much power. It made me cry when I was a little kid, and it still does. I miss those days so much... Thank you God for the memories. I'll always remember this for ever and a day.

[@spkenn36]

You have just reduced a 38 year old hardened man to a mess of tears... It seem Im not the only one either and it is amazing that a piece of music and montage can take you back to the rare innocence of a child. Thanks to the poster! Thanks to Sesame Street Thanks to Vivaldi Thanks to God!

[@thelonecomet1377]

I dedicate this to the memory of my wife, whom I lost November 2016.

[@EphemeralProductions]

❤❤❤❤❤. Big hugs! 🥰🥰

[@sugarbear522]

After watching this film 30+ years after seeing it at my grandma's house, the sad flower it reminded me of my grandma.....who passed away today. :'( It is comforting to know the seeds, symbolised by my mom, myself, and other relatives and the raindrops that follow brings a clear message that life will go on and continue to grow. Rest in peace grandma.

[@meandmy3phans]

I'm so sorry....

[@THXx1138]

Such beautiful insight and sentiment. Your words are a blessing as much as this beautiful Vivaldi rendition. Thank you.

[@lovelyliza1905]

❤️❤️❤️

[@pernelldh]

Me with my brother and our cousins lost our grandmother 👵 too. 😢

[@douglas787]

I saw this almost 50 years ago but could never find it on the net because the memory was so faint from when I was about 3 years old. I tried googling "slow harp", "lullaby", and anything I could think of. The music haunted me. Finally stumbled on it after all these years. Thank you youtube.

[@barryN69]

Remember seeing this as a child growing up and always cry when I h hear this music. 🎶

[@dr.joshuacooper-arrhythmia9917]

Like so many who are leaving comments, this video had a huge emotional impact on me in childhood. Every time i heard/saw this on Sesame Street, i was riveted and emotional, uncertain as to why. And, almost 50 years later, the emotional impact on me remains extremely strong. Tearful right from the start. I tried showing it to my 5yo daughter tonight and it didn't have the same impact, which is a little sad. We're in a different audio-visual era. I'm sure we'll find other things that evoke that type of emotion.

[@jacquiejones8041]

I was a Mom at the time with kids who watched Sesame Street. This was profound to me when I saw it. I never forgot this video and am so glad to find it!

[@critters999999999]

Dear Sad Flower: Don't cry. The wind has blown your babies/seeds to beautiful parks. There, they grew up where people admired their beauty; the beauty they got from their mother.

[@dianea9550]

That's such a beautiful sentiment! :')

[@critters999999999]

@@dianea9550 Thank you, Mama!!

[@sha11235]

I don't see this shit happening at all.

[@Frantic43]

I can remember watching this on Sesame Street even now at 54 years old it’s still has a special place In my heart

[@chaoticcanyon2081]

I thought I was the only one who remembered this clip. It's impossible for me to separate the image of this flower from its music whenever I hear it. I never cried over this as a child, because it didn't make me sad. Instead I felt an overwhelming sense of natural beauty, vulnerability, and a place in this world.

[@sha11235]

Well, everyone reacts to it differently. I thought the music seemed a little sad, that's all. I wonder if the show got any complaints about it.

[@speeta]

One of the oldest and best clips Sesame Street ever ran. Everyone who remembers it understands its beauty and emotional power. It's astonishing that this never turned up on the "old school" DVD releases.

[@mikebarnes6167]

Thanks for posting. This brings me back to being a young boy watching Sesame Street in the early to mid 70s. I was mesmerized by this clip, then and now. I always thought it was beautiful and not sad. This was from the era when Sesame Street assumed its viewers, though young, were intelligent. So they challenged them to think with art like this.

[@rossspazio7950]

I can't believe I would find this here decades after. This melody and this particular video from my childhood Sesame Street days have haunted me for years. Thanks, Mstatz!

[@rodolfito57]

i can´t believe this ......i always believed ....was the only one remembering this.

[@rossspazio7950]

rodolfo pimentel We should have coffee then, lol. All of us who thought so, hehe.

[@rodolfito57]

jajjajajja I agree.....maybe we are a lot!!!!saludos desde México.

[@ThisIsTedMontuori]

Me too!

[@mmwhite1967]

This had haunted me for years too until, as an adult I heard Vivaldi. Such tragically beautiful song

[@jmm4405]

49 years later and this still makes me cry. Miss you mom.

[@byronharano2391]

Sesame Street managed to capture the emotions in this master piece. Haunting memory of a childhood past.

[@ggrohwin]

This video and musical piece is one of the clearest and most enduring memories I have from my early childhood. It was so emotionally powerful that I have carried it with me for 50 yrs

[@trombonecoach]

I was 500 feet from the South Tower of the WTC when the second “plane”, or whatever it was, hit, having helplessly watched dozens of innocent people fall and throw themselves from 80, 90 and 100-story windows in the North Tower. I made my way back to my brother’s apartment in the West Village later that morning, then finally back to my apartment near the NJPAC in Newark, NJ later that evening, once the trains were finally running again. I listened to this piece non-stop for several days after 9-11-01 to calm my nerves, ground me, remind myself that there was still beauty in the world.

[@PaulElmont-fd1xc]

😢💔

[@purgetheheretic]

The piece stirs the spirit. Especially as one gets older, we feel a great loss. The loss of our childhood innocence and purity. I could never understand why this clip from sesame Street always struck me so deeply, from the first time I saw it in 1985 or 86, but it has stayed with me. It imprinted on my spirit. Everytime I hear the song now, it brings me to tears without fail, for what has been lost, but gives me hope for the future, with effort and The Grace of God.

[@RReneeS]

I too am a part of the first Sesame Street generation. The Sesame Street of today just doesn't compare to the "old school" show of the 70's and early 80's. This sketch is one I remember well because of the beautiful music and the big city scene at the end that seemed very fascinating to someone who grew up in rural New England :) I'm almost 36 and I'm glad there are others who remember the same sketches that I do and are able to post them.

[@jimj9246]

Amazing how a simple piece stayed with us for so many years since we saw this as kids. The tune used to be in my mind frequently growing up, but until I finally searched for it, I figured I'd never hear it again. I always saw it as the simple yet unconquerable beauty of nature in a crazy world.

[@allisonjohnson6399]

I think it's especially beautiful having a section full of comments of souls that have equally been touched by this piece. How blessed a generation are we to have grown up with segments like these that truly touched our souls to tears, that we remember 40 years later and still enjoy and appreciate. We love you, little flower.

[@DigitalLazarus]

As a very, very little girl, I cried too whenever this wee Sesame Street film played. I sat mesmerized and I couldn't quite understand the effect watching it always had on me as I wasn't really sad, but yet the tears always came (like they still do). Now, of course at age 57 I completely understand why. How amazing to read all the comments below to know I was not alone. And how excellent were the programmers to gift us with Vivaldi? Happy 50th to our Sunny Day Sesame Street

[@ruschilders5356]

I also remember this from Sesame Street and was moved to tears then. We watched it during class at school and I couldn’t understand why I was crying, my teacher asked me and I didn’t know. Tonight is the first time in close to 50 years that I’ve seen and heard it as I remembered it...again moved to tears. I assume it was my first exposure to classical music (?) and what a testimony to the power of music. Being a musician for most of my lifetime I always remembered the melody and found out the composer and the title, but all these years had not heard this original version. I only remembered the raindrops on the plants in the video. I am also 57 years old and was SO surprised at how many kids experienced the same emotions from a short piece of video and music. My grandchild will soon experience this now that I’ve found it. A much needed ray of light in the darkness of our current world.

[@argylejon]

I've been trying to find this music for years...it was one of my favorite Sesame Street pieces when I was a kid. Thanks for posting it here!

[@77TJL]

Thank you for posting this! I saw this on Sesame Street when I was 4 or 5, and it made such a deep impression on me that I can say it contributed to my choosing a classical music profession. Not knowing how to begin searching, I finally found an album with the entire concerto when I was 16. It was like coming home.

[@GoodnightAgain]

I sought this out on a whim, today. I’ve been unsuccessful in prior searches. Wow!!! It’s incredible how many of us were touched by this piece. I sobbed when I saw it! Felt a similar depth of emotion today. The world needs more gently impactful art. ❤ I love this. I love that I’m not alone in loving this. Peace ✌🏼

[@NoelleTheTeacher]

I am almost 40. Back 22 years ago when I was a freshman in college, a roommate played an Andres Segovia tape and this was on it and I freaked out rambling and shouting about the Sesame Street flower with rain running on it....THANK YOU for posting this. It didn't make me cry but it put me as a child in a VERY melancholy state and sort of hypnotized me. I have loved knowing that I am in good company among you fellow posters that this song had such meaning....

[@gingerdurbin9425]

I want to share an experience I had this evening. When I was a little girl I was raised watching Sesame Street. I watched it until I was 12 years old. If my friends came over I would have to turn it off quickly so they didn’t know what I was watching. I loved this clip; it moved me in a way I had never felt before.It had a reverence about it that was absolutely haunting.Fast forward to college years. I was a music major but never finished my degree because I got married and had five cute babies. I however have taught piano for twenty years and searched for a reference to this piece.I would buy my children sesame street VHS tape‘s with classic Sesame Street on them hoping I would find this.I would ask people that had a vast knowledge of classical music what that guitar piece was that went Nana Nana Nana. Obviously that didn’t help. When you tube came out I would Google classic guitar piecesAnd listen to them for hours but I never found this. I watched every classic Sesame Street video posted on KZbin (or so I thought )and still never saw this. I have always assumed it was by Bach because it has a straightforward baroque feel. This evening a friend of mine who is a hairdresser over some product for me to try. I was telling him that my daughter had a track meet and I had opted not to go because she seems to do better when we are not there. He knows a lot about sports psychology and was talking about how she needed to relax before her meets and classical music is one of the best ways. He said have you heard Vivaldi‘s Concerto number 2? And I said do you mean summer? And he said I don’t think so, so when he left I looked it up and guess what I found! I also learned from the comments on Sesame Street it’s called Sad Flower. So her I am. Now I don’t know how many of you out there believe in God but in my mind this is a tender mercy. As I listen to the song,tears filled my eyes and I could feel Gods love.and I am a little girl again. I think it may well be the most beautiful piece of music written. Happy Easter.

[@madoxjim3773]

I 100 percent agree with you! What a wonderful blessing Heavenly Father has given you! I put my babies to sleep with this music! That and church music.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Big props must be given to the person that did the camera work on this. Going to the top of the building and doing their best to make a lone flower that no one would give a second thought to, this beauty that all of us remember many decades on.

[@MsPandaRosa]

This beautiful little flower, growing in the city on a cloudy day; one little flower growing on the quiet red bricks of a building in a city by a river.... sad and beautiful

[@dragondancer1814]

MsPandaRosa Shades of “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” but with a flower as the allegory of something beautiful surviving in a bleak landscape rather than a tree. I’ll take that daisy over an invasive species like the ailanthus tree any day!

[@MizzWGGrrrl]

@@dragondancer1814 Heh. I can't help but think "Oh, wow, the Brooklyn Bridge!" near the end of the video (you can see it in the distance).

[@mstatz]

Thank you SO much for your comment! I get thousands of youtube comments and hardly ever respond to them but when someone really appreciates one of my videos, I have to reply. I first remember watching this when I was 5 years old in 1973 and recorded this sometime in 1986. It's VERY beautiful and nostalgic to me too! Thanks again!

[@chrisloveslogos93]

Is this really a recording from 1986?

[@chongsl78]

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[@pusanghalaw]

all gen-x loves your channel - at least those that grew up watching tv.

[@Tokyo2009ful]

This music from heaven has been stuck in my brain cell ever since hearing it from Sesame Street. I hummed to myself, my children and now my grand daughter. This is soul comfort music food ❤. Thank you for sharing it

[@tactiletinkerer]

I was probably 4 or 5 when during its debut broadcast in the '70s... not only is music and imagery recall crystal-clear, watching this as a 50yo... but my 'self memory' from back then: small, sitting close in front of the big glass TV screen like my parents said not to do... but mesmerized by Vivaldi on guitar, and why a flower seemed to both cry and shine, alone in a giant, harsh grey city, far away somewhere. It was melancholy I was feeling... but when you're five, it just hurt. I credit much to Sesame Street in these moments (as well as all the colorful, fun educational ways) for an early resolve to leave my backwater hometown, and go see the world and meet its peoples. That wouldn't have happened, had Sesame Street and other pub-ed shows of the era like Mister Roger's Neighborhood, not instilled such basic, decent, yet richly multi-cultural seeds in young minds in a skillful, restrained, and resolute way. There is no substitute for '70s/early '80s Sesame Street. It was just better.

[@pernelldh]

4 weeks ago, my brother and I had lost our beloved father. He was 83 years old when he passed away. 🌹

[@jenafuller1215]

I am very sorry for your loss

[@pernelldh]

@@jenafuller1215 Thank you.

[@PianoMelodicaDark]

I remember this being played right after that segment with Big Bird learning about death and its meaning; the episode where Mr. Hooper passed-away.

[@Nurbone]

I was just talking about that yesterday. I thought the flower was crying for Mr Hooper. I was in daycare when it aired and all of us were so silent and when this video came on we all teared up. I will always associate this song with the Death of Mr Hooper.

[@THXx1138]

+Nurbone Mr. Looper ;)

[@BuddyBoy600alt]

This would be a perfect funeral song for Will Lee.

[@sanjayarman]

I remember that being a very moving episode of Sesame Street😢 ~ Dr. Sanjay Kumar

[@sanjayarman]

@Paul Lamonte Thanks for the response. Yes, in fact, I remember humming to myself while in a playground or on a long school bus ride, or for any sad occasion later in life. I thought it was originally from Sesame Street, then later learned that it was from Vivaldi.

[@TheGroovySideOftheTube]

The point is - there is so much beauty that surrounds us in this nasty, brutish, and short life. We can notice and tune into it if we pay attention but the emphasis is placed on us choosing to do so. This film shows us how to appreciate these moments of beauty by transcendental and timeless music and very delicate, emotive camera work. Also, even though this small flower is dwarfed by the man made world, it in itself is intrinsically beautiful and has no need to justify its existence.

[@heathermaccrimmon1838]

well. i just cried reading that so many other people remember crying when they first saw this as kids. shows that you shouldn't underestimate the attention span or the sensitivity of kids.( and that comment spaces dont always have to be negative). to me as a 6 yr old , it was about the lonely struggle of something pure in an ugly world. ( somehow i remembered the city scape as bleaker.. i guess now i know NY is a happening place)

[@Stevaside]

This segment & song just came to my head out of nowhere & I remembered every note exactly....I did a search, came here & saw this for the first time since I was a child in the 80's. What a trip. Cool to see it managed to capture the emotions of others too. It made me cry when it came on & for some reason triggered the thought that one day my Grandparents would die, which inevitably happened years later. I must have been like 4 or 5 years old. Crazy the impact some music can have on people. I had no idea this was actually from the 60s-70s either until I saw the comments. Interesting

[@The111Queen]

I think that this video and music is showing us that we can see all the beauty in the world in a singe flower.

[@mstatz]

I know what you mean! When I hear and watch this video, it takes me back to 1972 and 1973 when I was four and five years old and watching Sesame Street with my older brothers when I got home from kindergarten.

[@mstatz]

That's a good point about this segment NOT being sad. I chose the title because I had seen others described it that way. I wouldn't have thought to use that adjective myself. However, when you think about it, because the music is so beautiful, it brings out emotions in people and some may even become teary-eyed. Tears become associated with sadness, hence, a sad film. The last scene (panning out to the city in the background) conveys the point of strength and resistance in nature.

[@j5356972]

Ok... This is nuts. This memory has been burrowed deep inside my head, and has sat dormant, until today. I can't even watch this film. Within 30 seconds I'm enveloped by profound sorrow and start weeping like I'm at a funeral. I think it's mostly the music doing the work here, but I just remember knowing as a kid that this short was about mortality and loss. The flower was really a stand-in for something I shouldn't be seeing...

[@christopherjones4075]

This little clip has always been a source of pure optimism and innocent bravery since I was little. It was a stroke of remarkable insight, looking back, to have placed this in a children's show. I wonder if they still air it. However you found it...THANK YOU for posting! I love all the other comments...so refreshing to see people responding positively!!

[@torontonian1978]

I thought I was the only one who tears up with old sesame street clips. it's truly comforting to know my sentiments are not just rose-tinted nostalgia - it really was as good as I remember it. Long live classic sesame street and its genuine love for children

[@777pusher]

Such a common connection many of us have with this emotional childhood memory, hey? For some reason, I feel like we were all somehow "improved" by having experienced it. After all, there were only a handful of channels to choose from. PBS was the "fuzzier" channel, but it was the ONLY truly educational choice for parents to expose their children to. We were blessed. My non-researched, uneducated opinion leads me to believe that we are indeed, the last crumbs of a moral society. What are today's children watching, witnessing, absorbing, and interpreting on the television or other video devices? The answer to that to that is pretty obvious to us. The largest majority of what kids are now exposed to is crime, death, sexual perversion, violence, machine guns, bombs, racism, terrorism, fraud, etc.. Many of us are becoming grandparents these days, and it is my sincerest hope that these grandchildren of ours will see this video at least once, during "their" impressionable youth.

[@colleen4ever]

Not all kids, just ones with negligent parents. The responsible ones monitor what their kids watch, have the brains to say 'OFF!' after a certain time and do NOT let their kids have electronic devices until they're old enough to know.

[@madoxjim3773]

I put my baby to sleep with this song.

[@An_Economist_Plays]

I was just looking for this, thank you! The film tells us that it is natural to cry when we are moved by great beauty, be it in nature or in art.

[@krgresh]

Omg…I too looked for this song. I cried at 4 yrs old when I heard it too. What is it about this song? How can a song so simple evoke such an emotion in so many people at early ages in their lives? I don’t understand. Who wrote this and what’s it called? I almost find it comical that so many of us have felt the same way. That’s what you call a song that can truly stand the test of tine…almost 55 now and I still remember.

[@carrieostrander879]

An honor to know the arranger/photographer, Rich Twarog. Very touching and timeless.

[@stacyweinstein-weiss9849]

Wow-amazing! I am 58 yrs old and still remember seeing this on Sesame Street! The purity of the video and the rendition of the song is so touching-the perfect combination! Please tell your friend Rich many, many thanks for making this beautiful, timeless video!

[@stacyweinstein-weiss9849]

…and if he can help me find a copy of that specific music recording, I would be forever grateful. I’ve gone through dozens of versions on Apple Music and online to find something even close to as pure and beautiful as that version of the song, and nothing comes close

[@rileywolanski4493]

I have been trying to find this song my whole life!!! I am now 44 and remember watching this video many times with such intense focus and having the music move me to tears. I love that so many more of you felt the same way!!! We were probably all crying at the same time after school Lol

[@captainfantastic9158]

I don't remember crying over this as others do, but I DO remember watching it and being lulled into a state of silent reverence. Of course I couldn't RECOGNIZE that as a little boy, but whatever Sesame wackiness had come before - Willy Wimple, Harvey Kneeslapper, or some animated insanity involving the letter "Z" - it would all fall away as this film took root...much like the flower in the film. I didn't know the name of the piece, but the guitar and strings were things of serene beauty. Sad, yes, but that "happy" kind of sad---the sad that makes you glad to be alive to APPRECIATE such beauty. And yes, we kids understood that final juxtaposition of nature's flower against the cold, hard backdrop of the city: beauty thrives - and survives - in ANY environment. This is BEYOND Classic Sesame. God bless our collective childhoods. ❤❤❤❤❤

[@HinduTimes]

I'm on the same boat. I'm 33 now and this flower/song has been embedded in my mind. My sister told me that I used to cry as a child everytime this came on. It just made me cry again and it reminds me of my childhood. Thanks for posting this.

[@michaelpomes]

This is what got me playing guitar and into classical guitar. 40 years later I'm now working on the full concerto. We'll see what happens next!

[@VampireMacky]

I remember first seeing this sometime in the 90s, when I was maybe 7 or 8. Seeing this now at 34 makes me think of my former high school band director, who lost his life to COVID this past July, especially since he LOVED classical music like Vivaldi. He even had the high school band do a rendition of The Four Seasons the year before I began high school (they performed at my middle school when I was in 8th grade). He was just like having another uncle in my life. Rest In Peace old friend!

[@crocoboxer]

Thanks so much for posting this! I remembered it all these years later and it had such an effect on me that I felt the need to go out and find it, even though I didn't really know how to describe what I was looking for. It remains very powerful to this day. You just don't see this type of presentation anymore. And that's a shame.

[@mrrizz48092]

Such a joy to know so many others felt as I did when hearing and seeing this first in 1970s. Now as a guitarist and instructor i distinctly remember the guitar in this piece moved me so deeply I promised myself to find it again when I grew up. This is my music roots I never knew was Vivaldi. Thank you for sharing!

[@The111Queen]

they are showing the beauty of the entire world in one flower and with this angelic music I say they have done it

[@eightarmsblackmist]

I CANT BELIEVE I FOUND THIS VIDEO. finally!!! this video is the reason that as a 34 yr old adult, i prefer rainy weather, love melancholic music and appreciate the sad emotion music can sometimes convey so gracefully. i have searched this video for about 15 yrs and this is finally it. had no idea it was actually part of Sesame Street, I just remember it was on PBS and i was very young watching it, i thought that sunflower was crying when i was small. thank you so much for posting this.

[@roninmastershinto69]

Welcome Spring 2024 May you be a blessed season for all of us to enjoy health, peace, prosperity, happiness, celebration of life, and ever present love to share with another.

[@codeofhonor8691]

Ah the early 70s. Things were so much more slower paced than now. School, going to the babysitter, Sunday school and not a worry in the world. This is Vivaldi I believe. The feeling is so emaculate in it's somber and tragic appeal. The strings sound so good on this analog recording. Thanks for bringing this back to life.

[@helensoto260]

I haven't heard this in over 40 years. It continues to be absolutely BEAUTIFUL and TIMELESS !!! Thank you for posting.

[@tarheel8494]

this was my favorite sesame street clip as a little kid..I'm 42 now and still love it...it introduced me to this beautiful piece of music.

[@itsirkeel]

My mother just this evening emailed me asking me about this piece of music. So now I can link her directly to this and show her that not only was I not the only one who has an instantaneous crying response to this, but that nearly ALL of us did!! Still can't watch the video and listen without crying. I'm mostly desensitized to the music only, but these two mediums together are impossible for me to watch and keep it together. Stay strong and weepy, GenX. 💓

[@bobsytwin1]

I can't thank you enough for posting this...I have looked for this song for over 30 years. I think tears came to my eyes when I found it...

[@TRPost]

Thank God for KZbin! I remember seeing this on TV as a kid 40 years ago and also thought the flower was crying. Watching this again caused me to cry. A timeless classic.

[@stefanharewood8661]

As a child I always had a love for this instrumental piece. So soothing ❤❤❤

[@sanjayarman]

Just got some slight sad news today, and thought to watch and listen to this Vivaldi piece that touched me from my childhood watching Sesame Street. Such nostalgic memories of my very innocent preschool and kindergarten times.🌺 ~ Dr. Sanjay Kumar Sr.

[@critters999999999]

Just as this little flower trying to live in a hostile world has touched our hearts, minds, and souls, you come into our lives, via TV, and do the same. Thank you doctor!!

[@annmar123]

wow. this is like the soundtrack to my life. i have thought about this snippet over the years since i first saw it in the 1970s. its so sad. the end kills me: poor lonely flower all alone in that wretched city.

[@THXx1138]

I am with you, friend as hearing/feeling it first as a child then once again, here 47 years later. I am moved to tears, easily. We are a truly blessed generation. This clip from Sesame Street has been tucked into the back pocket of my mind all these years, until this afternoon.

[@DigitalLazarus]

I cannot believe I have found this clip! What on earth would we do without KZbin? Wow! What a fabulous childhood memory. Thanks a million for sending me back.

[@jondickinson5623]

I'm 49 and remember watching this segment in the early to mid 70s and not feeling any reaction then, I live alone and am temporarily disabled after a heart attack and some related complications as well as the passings away in recent years of my parents and others I held dear and this came on Autoplay and found myself struggling not to lose my composure, It's a beautiful piece though in a melancholy way.

[@critters999999999]

I hope you are now up and around and feeling so much better! And by the way, you are in good company with all of the other people who also love this beautiful piece of music. See, you are not entirely alone.

[@jondickinson5623]

I am better these days, Thank you, It still moving to watch as it touches deep in the heart.

[@Druffmaul]

Thanks so much for posting this. I'm 39 and this segment has stayed with me for all of my life. To say I was disappointed that I didn't find it on the "Old School Sesame Street" DVD is putting it mildly.

[@critters999999999]

I think I heard this haunting music in a scene in "Pretty Baby". It was when she was in the limo going home at the end of the movie. The music brought back memories of how sad I was when I saw, for the first time 35 years ago, where the flower was trying to survive. I Googled it and was shocked and so happy to revisit an old friend. I wonder how many other: flowers, stray cats, unloved children are also trying to grow up in a grey concrete jungle.

[@donatoiacovino6968]

This was a treasure for Generation X

[@Tartaro-mq3uj]

Vivaldi is Timeless, no matter how much centuries passed, his music still giving goosebumps

[@rcaive0875]

This film is about 6 months of therapy in less than 2.5 minutes - for free! I always finished watching this with a clear head.

[@PaulElmont-fd1xc]

Beautiful observation!

[@laramaldonado7310]

Omg I cry when I was little still to this day😊

[@roninmastershinto69]

Welcome Spring 2020. I remember when I first saw this on Sesame Street and my heart was filled with great emotion that I started to cry. I wanted to know who conducted this beautiful song, and it took me at least 30 years to find who it was. It is Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto 5. I send this message of peace, love, and to support another in this difficult time of life now, and to focus on the moment to find the beauty and tranquility it possesses.

[@operating]

Yes. Kindergarten. Mom at home. Sitting in front of the old floor tv. My family home. Sweet sweet memories. Thank you!

[@jamesmccourt9782]

Wow. Very close to my my memories.

[@critters999999999]

Don't cry mommy. Your babies/seeds blew away to land in parks where they grew up. Everyone admires their beauty, the beauty they got from their mom.

[@dariaE]

I am 38. This clip rips my heart out with nostalgia, stomps on it with soft ballet shoes, then scoops up the crumbs and gently kneads them into a warm muffin that tastes like the first thing I ever tasted in my life. This clip instilled something in everyone who watched it at a tender age. A depth of ache and longing and sad bliss that nothing we try to feel since can come close to. I would love to know how many kids who were effected by this grew to become artists (or lovable wusses at least :)

[@psychill22]

I remember seeing this as a little kid and crying afterward. It still brings tears to my eyes now and I'm a friggin grown man now.