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)
Little Dogies
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm goin' to Montana to throw the hoolihan
I ride an old paint, I lead an old dan
I'm goin' to Montana to throw the hoolihan
They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw
Their tails are all matted, and their backs are all raw
For the fiery and snuffy are rarin' to go
Old Bill Jones had a daughter and a son
Some went to college and the daughter went wrong
His wife, she got killed in a poolroom fight
But still he keeps singin' from mornin' till night
Ride around little dogies, ride around them slow
For the fiery and snuffy are rarin' to go
I worked in the city, worked in the farm
All I've got to show is this muscle in my arm
Blisters on my feet, calluse on my hands
And I'm goin' to Montana to throw the hoolihan
Ride around little dogies, ride around them slow
For the fiery and snuffy are rarin' to go
When I die, take my saddle from the wall
Place it on my pony, lead him out of his stall
Tie my bones to his back, turn our faces to the West
And we'll ride the prairie that we love the best
Ride around little dogies, ride around them slow
For the fiery and snuffy are rarin' to go
The song "Old Paint" is a traditional American cowboy ballad that speaks to the life and mindset of a cowboy. The opening lyrics set the scene, describing how the singer rides an old paint horse and leads an old dan horse on his way to Montana to "throw the hoolihan." Throughout the song, the imagery and language used speak to the connection between the cowboy and his horses. He describes how they feed in the coulees, water in the draw, and how their tails are all matted and their backs are all raw. The cowboy is careful when he rides around little dogies, for the fiery and snuffy horses are raring to go.
The song notes the story of Old Bill Jones, who had a daughter and a son. The daughter went wrong, while some of his children went to college. His wife was killed in a poolroom fight, but Old Bill Jones still sings from morning till night. The last verse mentions how the cowboy has worked in the city and on the farm, but all he has to show for it is a muscle in his arm and blisters on his feet. The chorus runs through the song, and the end speaks to how when the cowboy dies, his saddle should be placed on his pony, his bones tied to its back, and both turned to face the west as they ride the prairie.
Line by Line Meaning
I ride an old paint, I lead an old dan
I travel to Montana with my old horse and mule.
I'm goin' to Montana to throw the hoolihan
I'm heading to Montana to participate in a rodeo event called 'hoolihan.'
They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw
My horse and mule eat and drink in the valleys and ravines.
Their tails are all matted, and their backs are all raw
My horse and mule's tails are tangled, and their backs are sore and chafed.
Ride around little dogies, ride around them slow
Take care and slow down, little cattle.
For the fiery and snuffy are rarin' to go
The restless and impatient cattle are eager to run ahead.
Old Bill Jones had a daughter and a son
Bill Jones had children, a daughter and a son.
Some went to college and the daughter went wrong
His children's lives took different paths as his son attended college, but his daughter made some bad choices.
His wife, she got killed in a poolroom fight
Bill Jones' wife died in a fight at a pool hall.
But still he keeps singin' from mornin' till night
Despite the tragedies in his life, Bill Jones sings all day long.
I worked in the city, worked in the farm
I have worked both in the city and on a farm.
All I've got to show is this muscle in my arm
The only tangible result of my hard work is the muscle in my arm.
Blisters on my feet, calluse on my hands
My feet are blistered and my hands are rough and calloused from hard physical labor.
When I die, take my saddle from the wall
When I pass away, remove my saddle from the wall.
Place it on my pony, lead him out of his stall
Put the saddle on my horse, and guide him out of his stall.
Tie my bones to his back, turn our faces to the West
Secure my bones on his back and face us towards the West.
And we'll ride the prairie that we love the best
Together, my horse and I will travel to our favorite prairie.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: FRED HELLERMAN, LEE HAYS, PETE SEEGER, RONNIE GILBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind