As a member of The Weavers, Seeger had a string of hits, including a 1949 recording of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene" that topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. He was formerly a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America and was a major contributor to folk and protest music in the 1950s and the 1960s.
Perhaps best known today as the author or co-author of the songs Where Have All the Flowers Gone, If I Had a Hammer, and Turn, Turn, Turn, songs that have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and which are still sung all over the world. Flowers was a hit recording for The Kingston Trio (1962), Marlene Dietrich, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962), and Johnny Rivers (1965). "If I Had a Hammer" was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary (1962) and Trini Lopez (1963), while The Byrds popularized "Turn, Turn, Turn" in the mid-1960s.
Early work
Seeger dropped out of Harvard (where he had been studying journalism) in 1939, and he took a job in Washington, D.C. at the Archive of American Folk Song in the Library of Congress. In that capacity, he met and was influenced by many important musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. He met Woody at a "Grapes of Wrath" migrant workers concert on March 3, 1940 and the two thereafter began a musical collaboration.
In 1948, Seeger wrote the first version of his now-classic How to Play the Five-String Banjo, a book that many banjo players credit with starting them off on the instrument. He went on to invent the Long Neck or Seeger banjo. This instrument is three frets longer than a typical banjo, and slightly longer than a bass guitar at 25 Frets, and is tuned a minor third lower than the normal 5-string banjo.
As a self-described "split tenor" (between an alto and a tenor), he was a founding member of the folk groups the Almanac Singers with Woody Guthrie and the Weavers with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman. The Weavers had major hits in the early 1950s, before being blacklisted in the McCarthy Era.
On August 18, 1955, Pete was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) where he refused to name personal and political associations stating it would violate his First Amendment rights... "I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this." Seeger's refusal to testify led to a March 26, 1957 indictment for contempt of Congress; for some years, he had to keep the federal government apprised of where he was going any time he left the Southern District of New York. He was convicted in a jury trial in March 1961, and sentenced to a year in jail, but in May 1962 an appeals court ruled the indictment to be flawed and overturned his conviction.
Seeger started a solo career in 1958, and is known for songs such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," "If I Had a Hammer" (co-written with Lee Hays), "Turn, Turn, Turn," adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes, and "We Shall Overcome" (based on a spiritual and later became the unofficial anthem for the civil rights movement). Seeger became influential in the 1960s folk revival centered in Greenwich Village. He helped found Broadside Magazine and Sing Out!. He was strongly associated with Moses Asch and Folkways Records. To describe the new crop of folk singers, many of whom were politically minded in their songs, he coined the phrase "Woody's children", alluding to his former bandmate Woody Guthrie, who by this time had become a legendary figure. He has often sung and is associated with the song "Joe Hill".
In the mid-sixties he hosted a regional folk music TV show called Rainbow Quest which featured folk musicians playing traditional folk music. Among his guests were Johnny Cash, June Carter, Mississippi John Hurt, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roscoe Holcomb, The Stanley Brothers, Doc Watson, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, Richard Fariña and Mimi Fariña, and many others. Thirty-eight hour-long programs were recorded at new UHF station WNJU's Newark studios in 1965 and 1966, produced by Seeger and his wife Toshi with Sholom Rubinstein.
An early advocate of Bob Dylan, Seeger was supposedly incensed over the distorted electric sound Dylan brought into the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, especially with the inability to clearly hear the lyrics. There are many conflicting versions of exactly what ensued, some claiming that he actually tried to disconnect the equipment. He is often cited as one of the main opponents to Dylan at Newport 1965, but claimed in 2005:
"There are reports of me being anti-him going electric at the '65 Newport Folk festival, but that's wrong. I was the MC that night. He was singing 'Maggie's Farm' and you couldn't understand a word because the mic was distorting his voice. I ran to the mixing desk and said, 'Fix the sound, it's terrible!' The guy said 'No, that's how they want it.' And I did say that if I had an axe I'd cut the cable! But I wanted to hear the words. I didn't mind him going electric.
Later work
Seeger achieved some notoriety in 1967 and 1968 for his song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy", about a captain—a "big fool"—who drowned while leading a platoon on maneuvers in Louisiana during World War II. Seeger performed the song on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour after some arguments with CBS about whether the song's lyrics were objectionable. Although the song was cut from the Smothers Brothers show in September 1967, Seeger returned in January 1968 and sang the entire song. It was clearly an allegory about the U.S. under the leadership of Lyndon Johnson which was in over its head in the Vietnam War.
Another slight against Lyndon Johnson can be heard in his singing of Len Chandler's seemingly juvenile song, "Beans in My Ears" from his 1966 album Dangerous Songs!? in which he accuses "Mrs. Jay's little son Alby" (Alby Jay is meant to sound like LBJ) of having beans in his ears, or of not listening to the people.
In 1998 a double-CD tribute album was released - "Where Have All the Flowers Gone: the Songs of Pete Seeger". It contained contributions from Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg, Eliza Carthy, Bruce Springsteen, Roger McGuinn, Judy Collins, Indigo Girls, Dick Gaughan, Martin Simpson, Odetta and others.
Pete Seeger still performed occasionally in public until his death, and for a number of years appeared at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Tennessee to tell stories, mostly children's stories such as Abiyoyo. He performed at MerleFest April 27-30, 2006 in Wilkesboro, NC.
On March 16, 2007, the 88-year old Pete Seeger performed with his siblings Mike Seeger and Peggy Seeger, and other Seeger family members at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where he had been employed as a folk song archivist 67 years earlier.
In April 2006, Bruce Springsteen released a collection of songs associated with Seeger or in Seeger's folk tradition, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Bruce Springsteen performed a series of concerts based on those sessions, to sellout crowds. Springsteen had previously recorded one Seeger favorite, "We Shall Overcome," on the 1998 "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" tribute album.
Seeger lived in the hamlet of Dutchess Junction in the Town of Fishkill, NY and remained very politically active in the Hudson Valley Region of New York, especially in the near-by City of Beacon, NY. He and Toshi purchased their land in 1949, and lived there first in a trailer, then in a log cabin they built themselves, and eventually in a larger house. Seeger joined the Community Church (a church practicing Unitarian Universalism), is considered a famous Unitarian Universalist, and often performed at functions for the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Seeger died in 2014 of natural causes.
Awards
Seeger has been the recipient of many awards and recognitions throughout his career, including:
A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1993)
The National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts (1994)
Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Honor (1994)
The Harvard Arts Medal (1996)
Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1996)
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album of 1996 for his record "Pete" (1997)
Arrange And Re-Arrange
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I say a little prayer for the world.
I hope all the little children live a long, long time
Yes, every little boy and little girl.
I hope they learn to laugh at the way
Some precious old words do seem to change,
'Cause that's what life is all about:
To arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
[Chorus:]
Oh-wee, oh-wye, to re-arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
Oh-wee, oh-wye, to re-arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
Early in the mornin' I'm a-carrying the sap
And I say a little prayer for the maple.
Like old Mama Quad, on the northwest slope,
I'll protect her 'long as I am able.
She gives me more sap year after year,
Than any single other tree,
So bring on the pancakes! Here's to Mama Quad!
May she live for another century.
[Chorus]
Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night
And rub my achin' old eyes.
Is that a voice from inside-a my head
Or does it come down from the skies?
"There's a time to laugh but there's a time to weep,
And a time to make a big change."
Wake-up-you-bum-the-time-has-come
To arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
[Chorus]
Maybe the biggest change will come
When we don't have to change much at all.
When maniacs holler, "GROW, GROW, GROW!"
We can chose to stay small.
The key word may be "little."
We only have to change a little bit.
So eat a little food, drink a little drink;
And only have to . . . (sigh)
[Repeat first verse]
[Chorus 2x]
Pete Seeger's "Arrange and Re-Arrange" is a song that provides a thoughtful commentary on life itself. The song starts with the sight of the sunrise and the hopeful prayer for all the little children's future. As the song unfolds, Seeger certainly tries to capture life's essence in his lyrics. According to Seeger, life is not just about learning to laugh and accept the changing times, but it is also about making efforts to change ourselves and our surroundings. The line "To arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange" refers to the idea that life is all about making the right adjustments.
The song has four stanzas and a chorus, and each of them describes a different scene. The first verse describes the morning and the prayer for a better world. The second one is about carrying sap to make maple syrups and protecting the source of sap. The third one tells us about a moment when Seeger wakes up and feels a calling to bring a change. In the last verse, the songwriter leaves us with a thought that perhaps the big change will come when we don't have to change much at all.
Overall, Pete Seeger's "Arrange and Re-arrange" is a wonderful piece of music, which inspires the audience to reflect on life and the importance of staying open to change. The song is a vivid representation of Seeger's ideology, which is centered around the idea that change is the most important aspect of life, and life is all about learning to embrace it.
Line by Line Meaning
Early in the morning, I first see the sun,
Every morning, I wake up to see the sunrise and pray for the world.
I say a little prayer for the world.
I pray for the good health and long life of everyone in the world.
I hope all the little children live a long, long time
I hope every child has a happy and healthy life, free from any harm or difficulties.
Yes, every little boy and little girl.
I hope every child in this world grows up to be a kind and compassionate person.
I hope they learn to laugh at the way
I hope children learn to take it easy and laugh at themselves or things that don't make much sense.
Some precious old words do seem to change,
I hope children understand that language changes over time, and words that were once acceptable might not be acceptable anymore.
'Cause that's what life is all about:
I firmly believe that life is constantly changing, and flexibility and adaptability are the keys to living a happy and fulfilling life.
To arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
I think life is about changing things around and trying something new even if it means taking a different path.
Oh-wee, oh-wye, to re-arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
This is a chant that reflects how I feel about the cycle of life and the seemingly never-ending changes that happen.
Early in the mornin' I'm a-carrying the sap
At morning time, I'm up early to transport maple sap.
And I say a little prayer for the maple.
I pray for the maple tree because it provides my family with the most sap compared to the other trees on our land.
Like old Mama Quad, on the northwest slope,
Just like Mama Quad, who is one of the largest maple trees in our woodlot located on the northwest slope, I reflect on what it represents and vow to take care of it as best I can.
I'll protect her 'long as I am able.
I will keep her safe for as long as I am available to.
She gives me more sap year after year,
Mama Quad gives more sap every year compared to other trees on our land.
Than any single other tree,
Mama Quad is special and unique as it supplies the most sap compared to any other tree in the woodlot.
So bring on the pancakes! Here's to Mama Quad!
We value Mama Quad for the abundant sap and look forward to consuming it with a delicious stack of pancakes to give our thanks.
May she live for another century.
We wish and hope for Mama Quad's longevity for another hundred years.
Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night
There are moments when I wake up suddenly and unable to sleep in the middle of the night.
And rub my achin' old eyes.
I wake up rubbing my eyes, which are already becoming sore at times.
Is that a voice from inside-a my head
During these midnight hours, I contemplate whether the voice I hear is in my head or is regionally out of me.
Or does it come down from the skies?
I question whether the voice came from the sky as if a higher power is guiding me.
"There's a time to laugh but there's a time to weep,
"There is a time for laughter, but there are also moments of sadness,
And a time to make a big change."
a time when we need to make significant changes in our lives.
Wake-up-you-bum-the-time-has-come
I use humour to convey that it's time to get up and make a change in your life.
To arrange and re-arrange and re-arrange.
I believe it's time to stop procrastinating and to make small to significant changes to improve one's life.
Maybe the biggest change will come
There is a possibility that the most significant transformation might be minor.
When we don't have to change much at all.
At times, making too many adjustments is not necessary.
When maniacs holler, "GROW, GROW, GROW!"
When people are always urging others to grow or become more significant,
We can chose to stay small.
we should have the liberty to remain little if it is what we wish.
The key word may be "little."
Perhaps being little and not attracting your view is the significant key to life.
We only have to change a little bit.
We only have to make minor changes sometimes to see significant results.
So eat a little food, drink a little drink;
Sometimes little actions lead to significant changes. Take, for instance, eating less or drinking less can lead to you being healthier.
And only have to . . . (sigh)
We only have to take small steps towards our goals, but it can be frustrating at times to feel like you're making slow progress.
[Repeat first verse]
I repeat the first verse in the chorus, summarizing that I believe that we have to keep changing, adapting, and improving ourselves continuously to live a fulfilling life.
[Chorus 2x]
The chorus repeats twice to underscore that change is a part of life, and we must embrace it in all its forms.
Contributed by Liliana N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.