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)
Hobo
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let the towns drift slowly by
Can't you hear the steel rail humming
That's a hobo's lullaby
Do not think about tomorrow
Let tomorrow come and go
Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar
I know the police cause you trouble
They cause trouble everywhere
But when you die and go to heaven
You won't find no policemen there
I know your clothes are torn and ragged
And your hair is turning grey
Lift your head and smile at trouble
You'll find happiness some day
So go to sleep you weary hobo
Let the towns drift slowly by
Don't you feel the steel rail humming
That's a hobo's lullaby
The song "Hobo" by Pete Seeger is a poignant ballad about a hobo trying to find solace in the silence of night. The song starts with the lyrics, "Go to sleep you weary hobo, Let the towns drift slowly by." It seems like a lullaby meant to comfort the hobo, who is tired of travelling and wants to rest. The next line, "Can't you hear the steel rail humming, That's a hobo's lullaby," adds a touch of irony to the song. The hobo may have found comfort in the sound of the train in the past, but it is also a reminder of his rootlessness and inability to settle down anywhere.
The song then suggests that the hobo should not worry about the future, "Do not think about tomorrow, Let tomorrow come and go." It seems like the hobo is being advised to live in the present and enjoy the moment, rather than worry about things he cannot control. The next line, "Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar, Safe from all the wind and snow," reinforces the idea of finding comfort in small things.
The song ends with a message of hope, "Lift your head and smile at trouble, You'll find happiness someday. So go to sleep, you weary hobo," that the hobo will eventually find happiness despite all the troubles he has faced in life. It's a moving song that speaks of the hardships of transient life and the importance of finding small moments of happiness amidst all the struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
o to sleep you weary hobo
Rest, tired wanderer
Let the towns drift slowly by
Don't worry about the future or unknown cities
Can't you hear the steel rail humming
Listen to the comfort of locomotion
That's a hobo's lullaby
Enjoy the natural comfort of train travel
Do not think about tomorrow
Forget the future, focus on the present
Let tomorrow come and go
Don't worry about what's beyond your control
Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar
You're safe and warm for now
Safe from all the wind and snow
Protected from the harshness of the outside world
I know the police cause you trouble
I understand your predicament with the law
They cause trouble everywhere
Police problems aren't unique to you
But when you die and go to heaven
In the afterlife, police won't bother you
You won't find no policemen there
Police won't exist in the afterlife
I know your clothes are torn and ragged
I see you're dressed in worn clothing
And your hair is turning grey
You're aging, but age brings experience
Lift your head and smile at trouble
Don't let hardship bring you down
You'll find happiness some day
Eventually, happiness will come to you
Don't you feel the steel rail humming
Listen to the peace and security of train travel
That's a hobo's lullaby
This is a song for the wandering traveler
Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: GOEBEL REEVES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
GreenSmoke331
A song about a time so different and yet so much like today. Those on top roll the dice and those on the bottom pay the bet. Great melody, great feelings. Listen to this while you read Grape of Wrath, or watch the evening news.
Ty Mott
I know the police cause you trouble, they cause trouble everywhere. Justice for George Floyd. Justice for all no matter who.
Bruh bruh
George Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose my guy
Tom Cornell
Pete was the genuine article, honest, genuine, authentic, a saint, he must be amazed to know now.
jennifer pegg
my dad used to sing this song to put me to sleep, he would play his guitar and when he started singing iti would make me cry , then i would fall asleep..i was a crybaby
zenmeister451
Such a sweet version of this song.
debgresh38
This is my favorite version of this song.
carrotjuse
Your dad instilled compassion in you and consideration for others. Bless him. Woody would be proud his music is still working.
tlc10598
I think most of us carry in "inner hobo", so in that sense he sings to all of us, so this song is both personal and universal.
hartiavoima
I know the police cause you trouble
They cause trouble everywhere
But when you die and go to heaven
There will be no policemen there
Just last week the police shot a homeless guy in LA. ..this beautiful song doesn't get old. :'(
Rest in peace hobo!