Pete Seeger - Tumblr Posts
god bless the truth, the friend of the poor
i am Obsessed with "The Union Boys" band, formed on March 11, 1944, that literally only existed for one day.
they released one album consisting of entirely anti-fascist, anti-racist, and pro union songs. And it was given its name by Moses Asch, very descriptive name.
consisting of Josh White (underrated ! listen to his music), Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, Tom Glazer, and technically woody guthrie. this album is the reason i always have "UAW-CIO" stuck in my head lol.
To hear your banjo play, 1947
one of the only films to feature Woody Guthrie
John Brown’s Body / Glory Glory Hallelujah / Solidarity Forever performed by Sister Wife Sex Strike
Song of the day
(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown)
"Coyote, My Little Brother" Pete Seeger, 1966
originally written and performed in 1963 by Peter la Farge here
notably recently covered by contemporary artist Mitski in 2024 here
this song describes the poisoning of coyotes by strychnine that was part of a larger campaign to eradicate coyotes and ended up killing 2 million coyotes and millions of other predators and devastating local ecosystems everywhere in the USA.
Hi, I want to thank u for all the recs you do here, especially for recommending marty robbins' version of (ghost) riders in the sky, i'm obsessed with this song now!
Since pete seeger is one of your favourite artists and you like phil ochs too, i'd like to ask what phil songs would you like pete to cover, besides the ones he already did? That you think would work well with his voice/would do a great arrangement of ect
I think the highwayman and one more parade would be amazing
Cheers!
Sorry for how long this response took, i had to think about it!
I'm definitely not as familiar with Phil Ochs as i am with Pete Seeger and all the Phil Ochs songs that scream pete seeger, he had already covered like power and glory (one of my absolute favorites).
I do wish that Pete had covered "Changes" because I think it fits right in with other songs on his God Bless the Grass album, it also feels really similar to another Pete Seeger song "Turn!turn! turn!" they are both songs about seasons and the impermanence of nature and people, I'm surprised he didn't cover it.
I wish he covered "too many martyrs" because I think it's a well written political song and would fit right in with other songs like "Last Train to Nuremberg " and other political ballads. I wish he covered "small circle of friends" specifically with Arlo Guthrie on tour, I think that would have been cute. Oh, and obviously, "love me, I'm a liberal," because he's like overtly referenced in that song! it would have been funny. I also wish Pete Seeger covered the Billy Bragg song, "I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs Last night"
I also wish that Phil Ochs covered the song "Passing Through". It really fits in with his whole deal as a tragic but ephemeral artist, and is similar to other songs like "When I'm Gone" and "Changes"
ofc yea 100% agree with "the highwayman" and "one more parade"
songs mentioned:
the highwayman
one more parade
There's folk music, meaning "a wistful, guitar-centric style employed by one of the most famous and successful musicians on the planet," and then there's folk music, meaning "eclectic singer-songwriters with proudly leftist political views" and then there's folk music, meaning "a British woman in the 1960s has the weirdest voice you've ever heard and employs it in singing Child ballads without accompaniment," and no one has any way of differentiating which one of these they mean without extensive explanation
Song of the day
do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it
"Little Boxes" Malvina Reynolds, 1967-70s
originally written by her in 1962 and first recorded by her friend Pete Seeger in 1963. where it was his only charting single in 1964
the song is a fun satire, poking fun at the crushing normativity that was present in the 50s and 60s.
Sing Out! Poster from 1968, signed by various folk singers
Song of the Day
do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it
"Passing Through" Pete Seeger, 1956
the song was originally written in 1948 by Dick Blakeslee for the People's Songs bulletin and newsletter.
the organization and newsletter were started by Pete Seeger and Alan Lomax in NYC in 1946 and were published between 1946-50
the first recording of the song is the one featured here, done in 1956. but others have covered it, including
cisco houston 1965
Leonard Cohen 1972
Joan Baez 1975
I love this song, but I've always thought it'd be cool if the verse about George Washington was replaced with john brown.
"Giving voice to a silent river, folk singer Pete Seeger helped create an environmental group that built the sloop Clearwater. Shoreside festivals dramatize the river's plight and promise. With money raised, the organization cries foul against polluters and agencies that fail to regulate them."
National Geographic - January, 1978
little song rec for this morning
Song of The Day
do you want the history of a folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown
"Turn! Turn! Turn!"
The Byrds, 1965
"Turn! Turn! Turn!"/"To Everything There Is a Season" was a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959 and first recorded in 1962 by the Limeliters and then Seeger a few months later. It was featured in Sing Out! magazine in 1964
sing out! vol 14 iss 4 It was based on the Book of Ecclesiastes of the Hebrew Bible, which starts the same way "To Everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven" The song was popularized by the 1965 version by The Byrds.
I like this song, I think it's sweet. I like the original poetry of the Book of Ecclesiastes as well. I like the message, I like the idea that while there is a time war or for rage, there is also a time to mourn and to mend. I think that this song has the attitude of a traditional folk song.
Nina Simone and Judy Collins also covered it
He also did it as a duet with Judy Collins in 1966
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1972
Event Flier featuring several artists, including Pete Seeger for a celebration with Angela Davis
Song of The Day
"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" The Weavers, 1951
"Kiss Sweeter Than Wine" is based on a traditional Irish folk song first published between 1858 and 1881(?) called "Drimindown" which is about an Old man and his cow. Lead Belly, another prolific folk singer, heard his Irish friend sing this song and made his own version of it, adding blues rhythm and techniques to the traditional song, and titled it "If It Wasn't for Dicky" in 1937.
After the Weavers' Success with "Goodnight Irene " (another one of Leadbelly's songs), they decided to look for more inspiration. Pete Seeger liked "If It Wasn't For Dicky" and he and Lee Hays wrote new lyrics for the melody.
Pete Seeger remarks about the song and the nature of copyright and credit here:
"Now, who should one credit on this song? The Irish, certainly. Sam Kennedy, who taught it to us. Lead Belly, for adding rhythm and blues chords. Me, for two new words for the refrain. Lee, who wrote seven verses. Fred and Ronnie, for paring them down to five. I know the song publisher, The Richmond Organization, cares. I guess folks whom TRO allows to reprint the song, (like Sing Out!, the publisher of this book) care about this too."
(Where have all the flowers gone 1993)
Josh White, Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly), and a young Pete Seeger in New York - March 1941
Song of The Day
"If I Had a Hammer" Aretha Franklin, 1965
"If I Had a Hammer" was first written in 1949 by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger, and featured on the 1950 cover of Sing Out! magazine vol 1 iss. 1. It was written in support of the progressive party. It was first recorded by the Weavers in 1949 and was performed that same year in New York at a dinner for the communist party.
Daily Worker 1949-06-01: Vol 26 Iss 108
This performance of the song and this Newspaper would be used against Pete Seeger in his HUAC Testimony. He was sentenced to a year in prison for 'Contempt of Congress'. Here is an excerpt of the interrogation.
Mr. TAVENNER: My question was whether or not you sang at these functions of the Communist Party. You have answered it inferentially, and if I understand your answer, you are saying you did. Mr. SEEGER: Except for that answer, I decline to answer further. . . . Mr. SCHERER: Do you understand it is the feeling of the Committee that you are in contempt as a result of the position you take? Mr. SEEGER: I can’t say. Mr. SCHERER: I am telling you that that is the position of the Committee. . . . Mr. SEEGER: I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known. I love my country very dearly, and I greatly resent this implication that some of the places that I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or philosophical, or I might be a vegetarian, make me any less of an American. I will tell you about my songs, but I am not interested in telling you who wrote them, and I will tell you about my songs, and I am not interested in who listened to them. . . .
Unfortunately, Pete Seeger and the rest of the weavers were blacklisted during the Red Scare, meaning that they were not able to publicly perform "If I Had A Hammer", and they were forced to disband in the early 50s.
In the Biography How Can I Keep From Singing, Pete Seeger remarks on this.
"Why was it controversial? In 1949 only ‘Commies' used words like ‘peace' and ‘freedom.'… The message was that we have got tools and we are going to succeed. This is what a lot of spirituals say. We will overcome. I have a hammer. The last verse didn't say ‘But there ain't no hammer, there ain't no bell, there ain't no song, but honey, I got you.' We could have said that! The last verse says ‘I have a hammer, I have a bell, I have a song.' Here it is. ‘It's the hammer of justice, it's the bell of freedom, the song of love."
With few exceptions, the song was dead for 12 years...
Until Peter Paul & Mary covered it in 1962
This song became a top 10 hit song in America! Since then it has been covered over 200 times. It was one of the top 100 songs of 1962 and is still a popular song today. It transcended genre and many many popular artists including Jimmie Rodgers, johnny cash, and the 'Queen of Soul', Aretha Franklin in 1965.
and, as a happy ending, the weavers performed it again in their reunion concert in 1963.
Also, a thing I like about this song is that it seems to be inspired by the John Henry song "This Old Hammer" based on the lyrics and rhythm. The hammer may have killed John Henry, but it can Hammer the way to freedom as well.
Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest, ep 5, 1965 "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" Bernice Reagon
taken from Rainbow Quest TV show, 1965
Portland Town