Seeger's father was Charles Seeger (1886–1979), an important folklorist and musicologist; her mother was Seeger's second wife, Ruth Porter Crawford Ruth Crawford seeger (1901–1953), a modernist composer who was one of the first women to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship. ... (family photo)
One of her brothers is Mike Seeger, and the well-known songwriter Pete Seeger is her half-brother.
One of Peggy Seeger's first recordings was "American Folk Songs for Children" (1955), considered one of her most enduring, and probably the best-selling, collection of children's songs ever recorded.
Together with MacColl, Seeger joined The Critics Group, performing satirical songs in a mixture of theatre, comedy and song. Seeger and MacColl recorded as a duo and as solo artists; MacColl wrote "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in Seeger's honor.
You Men Out There
Peggy Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listening to me going on at length about women this and women that.
Almost as if the other half, well 48%
Of the human race wasn't worth the time and space they occupy.
Stop surreptitiously checking your watches,
Hands instinctively covering crotches.
Inspecting your nails and rearranging your shoes.
And your father's father and
His dad's dad and his pop's poppa and all the lads,
And the uncles, sons and brothers too.
They probably felt the same as you,
Confused.
But from where we're at,
Here's how it looks.
Long before the time of books
Women were magic,
Women were mystery.
Way before the start of history,
Before space travel and mega cities
Females were heading planning committees.
Women searched the fields and hedges
Hunting flowers, herbs and sedges.
Roots for soups, leaves for healing,
Plants to enhance loving feelings.
Wise women,
Now called "witches"
And powerful women,
Now called "bitches"
Managed life and death and birth,
Cared and shared with planet earth.
When the golden age came to a stop,
There were the men up on top.
I guess it starts with lust and love,
Where a man spends a lot of time up above.
But somehow women got redefined
And got accustomed to tagging behind.
Got used to living by manners and graces
And being judged by our figures and faces.
And before long you were peelin' our bananas,
Opening doors for us and moving our pianos
Then you got busy.
You had a ball making and breaking
And rearranging it all.
The taj mahal, the game of chess,
Safety pins, the printing press,
Chemotherapy, burglar alarms,
Money, ice cream, nuclear arms,
X-rays, battery farms, wired bras,
Designer cars, opera houses,
Disco bars, income tax,
Revolving doors, glass ceilings,
War.
We all admit that you've done wonders
And if at times they seem like blunders
And look like a recipe for global death,
Women everywhere will have to accept
That we didn't stop you or slap your hand
As we travel the road to no mans land.
Still,
You're up there in the drivers seat
And we're down here with a balance sheet.
We're answering a question you didn't ask.
We want to go forward into a past
Where humans were part of a natural whole.
Where we didn't hunt, exploit or control every plant and animal species.
Where we didn't cover the world with feces of one sort or another.
As for the vote,
Well it's not the answer to a woman's prayer,
But it's a start and it's kind of fair.
And as women living in the world of man
We have to use every tool we can.
So,
Forward to the past
With attitude,
And backward to the future,
With gratitude for the battles our fore-mothers fought and won.
For the battles we're winning one by one,
Informative action.
And I do believe in what we women are going to receive
And what we women, if we want, can take.
52% of the cake, 52% of control.
And in terms of democracy as a rigmarole
That's only one person, one vote.
You men out there,
It's a time of change,
Of redirection
And it does feel strange.
It'll get less so hour by hour,
But remember it isn't easy relinquishing power.
We know.
The song "You Men Out There" by Peggy Seeger starts with the singer addressing men and acknowledging their strength. She explains that men have been listening to her talking about women and how often women have been disregarded over the course of history. Seeger notes that men have been surreptitiously checking their watches or rearranging their shoes while she speaks about women, but she understands their confusion. In the past, women were considered magical and mysterious, with women even heading planning committees before the start of history.
The singer notes that women were called witches or bitches even though they were the ones managing life, death, and birth. As things changed, men became more dominant, and women started living as dictated by manners and graces. Women were judged by their figures and faces, and men got busy making and breaking everything from the Taj Mahal to nuclear arms. The singer urges men to understand that women did not stop them from doing those things and that they both have to work together to move forward into a new world where humans were part of nature rather than exploiting it.
Line by Line Meaning
You men out there, you've shown real strength
You men have displayed true toughness and resilience.
Listening to me going on at length about women this and women that.
By listening to me talk extensively about women, you have shown good character.
Almost as if the other half, well 48%
It's as if you consider women, comprising nearly half the world's population, to be of little value.
Of the human race wasn't worth the time and space they occupy.
As if you regard women's existence as a waste of space and time.
Stop surreptitiously checking your watches,
Cease the act of secretly looking at your watches.
Hands instinctively covering crotches.
Reflexively hiding or guarding the genital region.
Inspecting your nails and rearranging your shoes.
Examining your fingernails and adjusting your footwear.
It's understandable, you're confused.
It's reasonable to be perplexed and disoriented.
But from where we're at,
From our perspective,
Here's how it looks.
This is how we perceive it.
Long before the time of books
Centuries before the era of books,
Women were magic,
Women held an aura of enchantment and wonder,
Women were mystery.
Women were inscrutable and enigmatic.
Way before the start of history,
Significantly earlier than recorded history,
Before space travel and mega cities
Before the development of space exploration and large-scale urban areas,
Females were heading planning committees.
Women led groups that organized and coordinated projects.
Women searched the fields and hedges
Women scoured meadows and hedgerows
Hunting flowers, herbs, and sedges.
In search of blossoms, plants, and grasses for various purposes.
Roots for soups, leaves for healing,
Roots used for soup, leaves applied for medicinal purposes,
Plants to enhance loving feelings.
Plants utilized to increase positive emotions around love and romance.
Wise women,
Sagacious women,
Now called "witches"
Currently labeled with the derogatory term "witches"
And powerful women,
As well as potent women,
Now called "bitches"
Now known as "bitches", an insult.
Managed life and death and birth,
Controlled the processes of living, dying, and giving birth.
Cared and shared with planet earth.
Displayed consideration and cooperation with the environment.
When the golden age came to a stop,
When a time of prosperity and flourishing ended,
There were the men up on top.
Men were the ones dominating and having power.
I guess it starts with lust and love,
It may have originated with the drive for sexual desire and affection.
Where a man spends a lot of time up above.
Where men usually aim to remain in positions of dominance.
But somehow women got redefined
However, women were redefined
And got accustomed to tagging behind.
And accepted being relegated to the background.
Got used to living by manners and graces
Achieved the habit of living according to decorum
And being judged by our figures and faces.
And being evaluated by their physical appearance.
And before long, you were peelin' our bananas,
Soon afterwards, you were performing tasks that were often done by women.
Opening doors for us and moving our pianos
Such as opening doors or moving instruments or other heavy things for us.
Then you got busy.
Then you started working busily.
You had a ball making and breaking
You had a great time constructing and destroying things,
And rearranging it all.
And altering everything around you.
The taj mahal, the game of chess,
Famous structures such as the Taj Mahal and games like Chess,
Safety pins, the printing press,
Relatively small things like safety pins and the printing press,
Chemotherapy, burglar alarms,
Advancements like chemotherapy and burglar alarms,
Money, ice cream, nuclear arms,
Inventions like money or delicious treats such as ice cream and terrible inventions like nuclear weapons,
X-rays, battery farms, wired bras,
Innovations like X-rays, battery farms or undergarments with wiring,
Designer cars, opera houses,
Designs like vehicles of latest edition and grand institutions like Opera Houses
Disco bars, income tax,
Swanky places like disco bars and obligatory incomes like income tax.
Revolving doors, glass ceilings,
Developments like revolving doors and subtle favoring of men over women as bosses (the so-called "glass ceiling")
War.
And the horrors of war.
We all admit that you've done wonders
Everyone recognizes that you've accomplished amazing feats
And if at times they seem like blunders
Even if occasionally they appear like mistakes,
And look like a recipe for global death,
And exhibit qualities that could lead to devastation worldwide,
Women everywhere will have to accept
Women would have to concede,
That we didn't stop you or slap your hand
That we didn't prevent you or chastise you,
As we travel the road to no mans land.
As we jointly plummet towards a deserted wasteland with no ownership.
Still,
Yet,
You're up there in the drivers seat
You are in the position of power,
And we're down here with a balance sheet.
And we're confined down below balancing our ledgers.
We're answering a question you didn't ask.
We're addressing an inquiry you did not raise.
We want to go forward into a past
We seek to progress towards a past,
Where humans were part of a natural whole.
Where humans were an integral element of the natural environment.
Where we didn't hunt, exploit or control every plant and animal species.
Where we did not hunt, misuse or manipulate every flora and fauna species.
Where we didn't cover the world with feces of one sort or another.
Where we didn't litter the earth with waste of various types.
As for the vote,
With regard to voting,
Well, it's not the answer to a woman's prayer,
It may not fulfill women's deepest desires,
But it's a start and it's kind of fair.
Yet, it's a beginning and somewhat just.
And as women living in the world of man
As women existing in a society dominated by men,
We have to use every tool we can.
We must utilize every possibility available.
So, forward to the past
Therefore, let's move on to the past,
With attitude,
With confidence in our demeanor,
And backward to the future,
And retrospectively towards the future,
With gratitude for the battles our fore-mothers fought and won.
Expressing thankfulness for the fights our female ancestors fought and achieved.
For the battles we're winning one by one
For the contests we are successful in one by one
Informative action.
Silent but meaningful attempts.
And I do believe in what we women are going to receive
I strongly believe in what women will get to obtain.
And what we women, if we want, can take.
And what women can take if they choose to do so.
52% of the cake, 52% of control.
52% control of everything; society, possessions, professional and private life.
And in terms of democracy as a rigmarole
In the perspective of democracy as a fussworthy ceremony
That's only one person, one vote.
It is fitfully only one individual, one vote to stabilize democracy.
You men out there,
You males out there,
It's a time of change,
This is a moment of transformation,
Of redirection
Of diverted attention,
And it does feel strange.
And this feeling is bizarre.
It'll get less so hour by hour,
It will gradually improve over each hour,
But remember it isn't easy relinquishing power.
But do not forget, giving up power is not an easy task.
We know.
We understand the complexity of your situation.
Contributed by Keira O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.