I have been reluctant to blog about Pete Seeger's death at the age of 94, despite his powerful influence on folk music as a call to social justice. Seeger wasn't a Christian and he wasn't sure he believed in God. What might I write then, since I try to have a faith focus of some kind in every blog entry? Besides, the man played the banjo!
He was an extraordinary person, and, yes, a prophet as well as a bard. He "spoke truth to power" to employ an over-used phrase, challenging those who lay claim to privilege until the end of his long life. He hung out with the Occupy Wall St. crowd when he was in his nineties and led them in singing "We Shall Overcome." By my reckoning it was nearly 65 years after Seeger adapted the song from an old hymn "If My Jesus Wills", and decades after it became a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement. The man is deservedly a legend.
Andrew Revkin reminded us in his New York Times blog that Seeger also cared for the plight of the planet, not just people. He invites us to consider “'To My Old Brown Earth,' a song he wrote in 1958 that I consider one of his masterpieces — as simple and scintillating as a finely cut gem:"
To my old brown earth
And to my old blue sky
I’ll now give these last few molecules of “I.”
And to my old blue sky
I’ll now give these last few molecules of “I.”
This Paul Halley arrangement is lovely, and this choir is in a church. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LybxPjj0sbg#t=15And you who sing,
And you who stand nearby,
I do charge you not to cry.Guard well our human chain,
Watch well you keep it strong,
As long as sun will shine.And this our home,
Keep pure and sweet and green,
For now I’m yours
And you are also mine.
Any Pete Seeger thoughts, dear readers? Any banjo pickers I have offended?
87 Comments
Danny Heim
NM 4 hours agohttps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=making%20an%20horno%20oven&...
Danny Heim
NM 4 hours agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjEUOJWEWT0
Danny Heim
NM 4 hours agohttp://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Pete%2BSeeger%2BOf%2BTime%2Band%2BRivers%2BFlowing
Andrew Revkin
undefined 4 hours agoDiane
Washington, DC 4 hours agoBesides a US postage stamp to honor Pete Seeger, I applaud the suggestion going round to name the new Tappan Zee Bridge after one of the most vocal activists for cleaning up the Hudson River.
TJ
Jamaica Plain YesterdayNO NUKES!
Pete's opposition to nuclear power in all forms was rooted partly in his distrust of authority and corporate/technocratic "solutions": the heart of fascism...and partly in his fundamental sense of democracy. Andrew, which music are you listening to?
Bob Irvin
Washington DC Yesterdaysandy79
the world YesterdayHearing him sing, listening to the words, remembering how folk music made me feel a part of something whole, made me feel less judged and less of an outsider looking in.
nyrjnick
North Salem, NY YesterdayCheryl Devall
Los Angeles YesterdayEdBx
Bronx, NY YesterdayJim Cummings
Santa Fe, NM YesterdayDinahMoeHum
Westchester County, NY YesterdayAs is said in Swahili: "Guka 'mzimba, sala 'nhliziyo" (Body grows old, heart remains behind).
Fair Winds and Godspeed, Pete Seeger.
Paul King
USA YesterdayI'm taking his passing with sorrow but he also provides me strength as always.
Pete and his optimism... I guess that's the simple ingredient we need to make this a better world. And showing some humanity toward others. What major world issue could not be solved with this combination? And what minor daily occurrence in each of our lives could not benefit from the same?
Some care for the next person, especially strangers, and and an optimistic outlook.
Bev
Belmont, Mass. YesterdayJames F Traynor
Punta Gorda YesterdayDavid Chowes
New York City YesterdayOf course Pete Seeger asked "where have all the flowers gone?"... "and also said "that this land was for you and me."
So he recognized both the importance of all humanity as well as a habitable Earth to live on.
He both talked and sang the talk and walked the walk. His presence was a blessing to all of us.
The question is will we listen?
Brent Jeffcoat
Carolina YesterdayLFA
Richmond, Ca YesterdayEmily Gertz
New York City YesterdayLittle Neck Resident
Little Neck Yesterdayhttp://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-state-house-and-new-york-state-...
ckroll
putnam vallley, ny YesterdaySpikethedog
Marblehead YesterdayHe was never the same after Uncle Joe Stalin died.
Now they can be together again and chat about the good old times, like the Soviet takeover of Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
rscan
austin tx YesterdayJonathan Snell
Calgary, Alberta YesterdayThe challenge of finding a healthy way to share this planet amongst all 9 billion of us seems over whelming;
until I experience manifestations of the human spirit like Pete Seeger.
I posit that the question of whether or not our species will be able to exist without a major planetary overshoot and collapse population profile is more a spiritual question, than a technical one.
This (Love) machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.