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)
Jesse James
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He robbed the Danville train
He stole from the rich and he gave to the poor
He'd a hand, a heart, and a brain
Jesse was a man, a friend to the poor
He couldn't see a brother suffer pain
And with his brother Frank he robbed the Springfield bank
Poor Jesse had a wife, a lady all her life
And three children, they were so brave
But that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
Has laid ol' Jesse James in his grave
It was Robert Ford, the dirty little coward
And I wonder how he feels
For he slept in Jesse's bed and he ate o' Jesse's bread
But he laid Jesse James in his grave
It was with his brother Frank that he robbed the Gallatin Bank
An' carried the money from the town
It was at that very place that they had a little chase
For they shot ol' Captain Sheets to the ground
Poor Jesse had a wife to morn for his life
And three children, they were so brave
But that dirty lettle coward that shot Mr. Joward
Has laid ol' Jesse James in his grave
They went to a crossing, not very far from there
And there they did the same
For the agent on his knees delivered up the keys
To the outlaws, Frank an' Jesse James
It was on a Wednesday night, not a star was in sight
When they robbed the Glendale train
Those people, they did say for many miles away
It was robbed by Frank an' Jesse James
Poor Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life
And three children, they were so brave
But that dirty lettle coward that shot Mr. Joward
Has laid ol' Jesse James in his grave
Then on a Saturday night, Jesse was at home
Just talking with his family brave
When Robert Ford came along like a thief in the night
And laid poor Jesse in his grave
Now, the people held their breath when they heard of Jesse's death
They wondered how he came to die
It was one of his own gang called little Robert Ford
An' he shot Jesse James on the sly
Poor Jesse had a wife who mourned for his life
And three children, they were so brave
But that dirty lettle coward that shot Mr. Joward
Has laid ol' Jesse James in his grave
Jesse went to his rest with his hand upon his breast
And there are many who never saw his face
He was born one day in the County of Clay
And he came from a solitary race
This song was made by Billy Gashade
As soon as the news did arrive
He said there's no one man with the law in his hand
Could ever take ol' Jesse James alive
Poor Jesse had a wife to mourn his life
An' his children too, they were brave
But that dirty little coward shot Mr. Howard
An' laid Jesse James in his grave
Oh, they laid poor Jesse in his grave, yes, Lord
They laid Jesse James in his grave
Oh, he took from the rich and he gave to the poor
But, they laid Jesse James in his grave
The song "Jesse James" by Pete Seeger is about the infamous outlaw Jesse James and his death at the hands of Robert Ford, a member of his own gang. The song paints Jesse James as a Robin Hood-like figure who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. The lyrics describe some of James' most notorious crimes, including the robbery of the Danville and Glendale trains and the Gallatin Bank. Jesse James is also depicted as a family man with a wife and three children, who is mourned by his loved ones after his death.
The final verses tell the story of Robert Ford, who betrays and kills Jesse James. The song ends with a tribute to Jesse James' legacy, describing him as a man who could not be brought down by the law.
The song was first recorded by Billy Gashade in 1924, but it has been covered by many artists over the years. The melody is based on the old Irish tune "The Unfortunate Rake," which was also the source for another famous ballad, "Streets of Laredo."
Line by Line Meaning
Jesse James was a lad that killed many a man
Jesse James, the subject of the song, killed many men.
He robbed the Danville train
Jesse James committed a train robbery in Danville.
He stole from the rich and he gave to the poor
Jesse James would steal from wealthy people and give some of the stolen goods or money to the less fortunate.
He'd a hand, a heart, and a brain
Jesse James was equipped with the physical, emotional, and intellectual traits he needed to carry out his actions.
Jesse was a man, a friend to the poor
Jesse James was a person who deeply cared for the less privileged members of society.
He couldn't see a brother suffer pain
Jesse James was sympathetic towards people he considered his ‘brothers’ and was hurt by the thought of them being in pain.
And with his brother Frank he robbed the Springfield bank
Jesse James and his brother Frank stole from the Springfield bank.
And he stopped the Glendale train
Jesse James committed another train robbery in Glendale by stopping the train illegally.
Poor Jesse had a wife, a lady all her life
Jesse James had a wife who had been with him through many hardships, and who stayed with him for her entire life.
And three children, they were so brave
Jesse James had three courageous children.
But that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
Jesse James was shot and killed by Robert Ford, a member of his own gang who was a coward.
Has laid ol' Jesse James in his grave
Robert Ford murdered Jesse James.
It was Robert Ford, the dirty little coward
Robert Ford, the man who killed Jesse James, was being called a coward.
And I wonder how he feels
The author wonders how Robert Ford feels about killing Jesse James.
For he slept in Jesse's bed and he ate o' Jesse's bread
Robert Ford had previously been close friends with Jesse James, which means he had slept in Jesse’s bed and eaten his food.
But he laid Jesse James in his grave
Despite his friendship with Jesse James, Robert Ford was the one who murdered him and caused him to be buried.
It was with his brother Frank that he robbed the Gallatin Bank
Jesse James and his brother Frank participated together in a bank robbery in Gallatin.
An' carried the money from the town
After robbing the bank, the James brothers took the money out of the town.
It was at that very place that they had a little chase
Jesse James and his brother engaged in a brief chase at the scene of their bank robbery.
For they shot ol' Captain Sheets to the ground
During the chase, Jesse James and his brother shot Captain Sheets and left him on the ground.
They went to a crossing, not very far from there
Jesse James and his brother went to a nearby crossing.
And there they did the same
They did the same thing they did at the Gallatin Bank robbery.
For the agent on his knees delivered up the keys
The agent of the train being robbed gave up the keys to the outlaws while on his knees.
To the outlaws, Frank an' Jesse James
The outlaws on the train were none other than the James brothers themselves.
It was on a Wednesday night, not a star was in sight
The Glendale train robbery was carried out on a Wednesday night under the cover of darkness.
When they robbed the Glendale train
Jesse James and his brother robbed the Glendale train that Wednesday night.
Those people, they did say for many miles away
People in the surrounding areas knew that the train had been robbed by the James brothers.
Poor Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life
Jesse James's wife was left to grieve for him after he was killed by Robert Ford.
And three children, they were so brave
Jesse James's children continued to be brave even during this difficult time.
Then on a Saturday night, Jesse was at home
Robert Ford killed Jesse James while he was at home on a Saturday night.
Just talking with his family brave
Jesse James was simply chatting with his courageous family when Robert Ford killed him.
And laid poor Jesse in his grave
Robert Ford killed Jesse James and had him buried.
Now, the people held their breath when they heard of Jesse's death
People were shocked and devastated when they heard of Jesse James’s death.
They wondered how he came to die
People were confused and curious as to how Jesse James died.
It was one of his own gang called little Robert Ford
The murderer of Jesse James was a man named Robert Ford, who was a member of Jesse’s own gang.
An' he shot Jesse James on the sly
Robert Ford killed Jesse James without warning or reason.
Jesse went to his rest with his hand upon his breast
Jesse James was laid to rest with his hand placed over his chest in a respectful manner.
And there are many who never saw his face
Many people did not have the opportunity to see Jesse James’s face before he died.
He was born one day in the County of Clay
Jesse James was born in Clay County on a certain day.
And he came from a solitary race
Jesse James was a member of a family or group of people who tended to be isolated.
This song was made by Billy Gashade
Billy Gashade was the composer of the song.
As soon as the news did arrive
The song was created shortly after Jesse James's death.
He said there's no one man with the law in his hand
The song argues that no single person can have complete control over the law or justice system.
Could ever take ol' Jesse James alive
Even if someone had tried to capture Jesse James alive, the song implies that it would have been near impossible.
They laid Jesse James in his grave, yes, Lord
Jesse James was buried after his death.
They laid Jesse James in his grave
This line is repeated to emphasize the finality of Jesse James’s death.
Oh, he took from the rich and he gave to the poor
The song reiterates Jesse James’s tendency to steal from wealthy individuals and give to the less fortunate.
But, they laid Jesse James in his grave
Despite being a benevolent force in some people's eyes, Jesse James was still killed by Robert Ford and buried in his grave.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RY COODER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind