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)
Come All You Bold Sailor Men
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll sing you a song of the fish of the sea
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
First comes the bluefish a-wagging his tail
"All hands make sail!"
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Next comes the eels with their nimble tails
They jumped up aloft and loosеd all the sails
Blow you winds westerly, wеsterly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Next comes the porpoise with his short snout
He jumps on the bridge and yells
"Ready about!"
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Next comes the swordfish
The scourge of the sea
The order he gives us is "Helms a lee!"
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Having accomplished these wonderful feats
The blackfish sings out next to
"Ríse tacks and sheets"
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Then comes the mackerel with his striped back
He plopped on the bridge and
Yelled "Board the main tack"
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Then come the catfish with his chuckle head
Out in the main chains for
A heave of the lead
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Last comes the whale, the biggest of all
Singing out from the bridge
"All haul mainsail haul"
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Well, up jumps the fisherman
Stalwart and grim
And with his big net, he scoops 'em all in
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
The lyrics to Pete Seeger's song "Come All You Bold Sailor Men" depict a lively scene on a sailing ship as the singer sings about various fish of the sea and the actions they take. The song begins with an invitation to all sailors to listen as the singer announces that he will sing a song about the fish of the sea, setting the stage for the following verses.
Each verse introduces a different fish and describes their actions. The bluefish starts off by wagging its tail and yelling for all hands to make sail. The eels follow, using their nimble tails to jump up and loosen the sails. The porpoise adds its contribution by jumping on the bridge and calling for the ship to be ready about. The swordfish appears, described as the scourge of the sea, and instructs the crew to "Helms a lee!" The blackfish then sings out to "Ríse tacks and sheets" to continue the sailing maneuvers. The mackerel joins in by plopping on the bridge and commanding to "Board the main tack." The catfish follows, positioned in the main chains for a heave of the lead. Finally, the song concludes with the appearance of the whale, the biggest of all, who directs the crew to "All haul mainsail haul."
The song overall creates a vivid image of a bustling ship with each fish taking on a role and contributing to the sailing adventure. It highlights the collaborative efforts of the sailors and the power of nature, represented by the wind and sea creatures. It also captures the spirit of exploration and the thrill of sailing on the open sea.
Line by Line Meaning
Come all you bold sailormen, listen to me
Attention, courageous sailors! Take heed of my words.
I'll sing you a song of the fish of the sea
I shall regale you with a tale about the magnificent creatures dwelling in the ocean.
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
May the winds blow from the west, guiding our journey.
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
Our destined path lies southward, and we shall sail steadily on.
First comes the bluefish a-wagging his tail
The bluefish, displaying its wagging tail, takes the lead.
He comes off on deck and yells
"All hands make sail!"
Emerging onto the deck, it cries out for all sailors to set the sails in motion.
Next comes the eels with their nimble tails
Now, the eels arrive with their agile tails.
They jumped up aloft and loosеd all the sails
Skillfully, they leap up high and unfurl all the sails.
Next comes the porpoise with his short snout
Following them is the porpoise, boasting a short snout.
He jumps on the bridge and yells
"Ready about!"
Bounding onto the bridge, it exclaims, signaling readiness for maneuver.
Next comes the swordfish
The scourge of the sea
Now, the swordfish appears, feared by all in the ocean.
The order he gives us is "Helms a lee!"
It commands us to shift the helm to the opposite side.
Having accomplished these wonderful feats
Having achieved these remarkable accomplishments
The blackfish sings out next to
"Ríse tacks and sheets"
The blackfish joyfully calls out, instructing to raise the tacks and sheets.
Then comes the mackerel with his striped back
Following the blackfish is the mackerel, distinguished by its striped back.
He plopped on the bridge and
Yelled "Board the main tack"
It lands on the bridge and shouts for the main tack to be adjusted.
Then come the catfish with his chuckle head
Now, the catfish arrives, characterized by its comical head.
Out in the main chains for
A heave of the lead
Over the main chains it goes, preparing to throw the lead weight into the water.
Last comes the whale, the biggest of all
Finally, the largest creature of all, the whale, makes its appearance.
Singing out from the bridge
"All haul mainsail haul"
Emphatically calling from the bridge to hoist the mainsail completely.
Well, up jumps the fisherman
Stalwart and grim
And suddenly, the fisherman leaps up, displaying strength and determination.
And with his big net, he scoops 'em all in
Utilizing his large net, he gathers them all within.
Blow you winds westerly, westerly blow
May the winds continue blowing from the west.
We're bound for the south'ard
So steady she goes
For our destination lies southward, and we shall maintain a steady course.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind