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)
River Song
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Still I love it and I'll keep the dream
That some day, though maybe not this year
My Hudson River will once again run clear
It starts high in the mountains of the north
Crystal clear and icy trickles forth
With just a few floating wrappers of chewing gum
At Glens Falls, five thousand honest hands
Work at the consolidated paper plant
Five million gallons of waste a day
Why should we do it any other way?
Down the valley one million toilet chains
Find my Hudson so convenient place to drain
And each little city says, "Who, me?
Do you think that sewage plants come free?"
Out in the ocean they say the water's clear
But I live right at Beacon here
Half way between the mountains and sea
Tacking to and fro, this thought returns to me
Well it's Sailing up my dirty stream
Still I love it and I'll dream
That some day, though maybe not this year
My Hudson and my country will run clear
Pete Seeger's song "My Dirty Stream" is a powerful protest against the pollution of the Hudson River and the lack of action being taken to address it. Despite the fact that the river is "dirty" and filled with waste from paper plants and sewage, Seeger still loves it and believes that it can be restored to its former glory. The song starts by evoking a sense of nostalgia for the river and expressing a desire for it to be returned to its natural, clean state. Seeger sings about how the river starts in the mountains of the north, crystal clear and pure, but becomes polluted with trash and waste as it flows through cities like Glens Falls.
Seeger goes on to criticize the consolidated paper plant in Glens Falls, which produces five million gallons of waste every day. He questions why they continue to pollute the river in this way when there are surely better, more sustainable methods they could use. He also comments on the fact that every city along the river sees it as a "convenient" place to dispose of sewage, but no one wants to foot the bill for sewage treatment plants.
Despite the pollution, Seeger still has hope for a better future for the Hudson River and the country as a whole. He dreams of a time when the river will run clear again and implores the listener to join him in this vision.
Overall, "My Dirty Stream" is a rallying cry for environmental action and a deeply moving tribute to the natural beauty of the Hudson River.
Line by Line Meaning
Sailing down my dirty stream
I am navigating the polluted Hudson River
Still I love it and I'll keep the dream
Despite its contamination, I have a fond appreciation for my river and will persist in my hope for its restoration
That some day, though maybe not this year
I understand that ecological recovery is a long-term battle that may not show results immediately
My Hudson River will once again run clear
I envision a future where the river returns to its unpolluted state
It starts high in the mountains of the north
The source of the river is in the mountainous regions of the north
Crystal clear and icy trickles forth
The headwaters are unpolluted and clear
With just a few floating wrappers of chewing gum
Unfortunately, even the initial stages of the river's course have been contaminated by litter
Dropped by some hikers to warn of things to come
The litter left by hikers serves as an ominous foreshadowing of the river's eventual deterioration
At Glens Falls, five thousand honest hands
Glens Falls is the location of the paper plant and employs many people
Work at the consolidated paper plant
The paper plant is a significant employer in the area
Five million gallons of waste a day
The plant produces large amounts of pollutants daily
Why should we do it any other way?
There is no incentive to operate the plant in an environmentally-friendly way
Down the valley one million toilet chains
The towns along the river utilize numerous plumbing systems
Find my Hudson so convenient place to drain
Unfortunately, many of these systems deposit their waste into the river
And each little city says, "Who, me?
None of the towns want to take responsibility for their contribution to the river's pollution
Do you think that sewage plants come free?"
The towns argue that they cannot afford the expense of constructing and maintaining sewage treatment facilities
Out in the ocean they say the water's clear
People claim that the ocean is not polluted
But I live right at Beacon here
As a resident near the river, I witness the level of contamination firsthand
Half way between the mountains and sea
My location serves as a midpoint between the river's source and endpoint
Tacking to and fro, this thought returns to me
As I navigate the river, I am constantly reminded of its pollution
Well it's Sailing up my dirty stream
I continue to travel through the polluted river
Still I love it and I'll dream
Despite the pollution, I have an attachment to the river and maintain hope for its recovery
That some day, though maybe not this year
I understand that restoration will be a long-term process
My Hudson and my country will run clear
I have hope that, eventually, the river and the larger environment will be restored to an unpolluted state
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: PETER SEEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@oweyjr
She be getting there <3
@FruitFanatic33
What a fabulous man! His art form is amazing. 💛 Thanks for keeping him alive.
@johnnybx3254
We all have great memories of the Hudson and the many little islands we camped on and found arrowheads! Thanks for helping clean it up 👍👏👏👏
@susanbuckingham7476
Still so relevant - can be applied to most of the UK's rivers
@madelinef9586
this song is really a masterpiece!
@kathleankeesler1639
Thank you.
@Hchris101
Very good musician 👩🎤
@sclubbydoo6424
Lyrics:
Sailing down my dirty stream. Still I love it and I'll keep the dream. That some day, though maybe not this year, my Hudson river will once again run clear. Its starts hiigh, in the mountains of the north. Crystal clear and icy trickles forth. With just a few floating wrappers of chewing gum, Dropped by some hikers to warn of things to come. At glens fall five thousand honest hands, work at the consolidated paper plan. Five million gallons of waste today- why should we do it any other way. Down the valley one million toilet chains, Find my Hudson so convenient place to drain. And each little city said- 'Who me? Do you think that sewage plant come free?' Out in the ocean they say the waters clear. But I live right at at beacon pier, halfway between the mountains and the sea- packing to and through this thought returns to me. Sailing down my dirty stream, still I love it and I'll dream, that someday though maybe not this year- my Hudson river, will once again run clear.
@wild-radio7373
Thank you for this ♡♡♡
@irosenth100
I remember a key three words missing from this version of the song : AND MY COUNTRY. as in, And someday though maybe not this years, my Hudson river AND MY COUNTRY will run clear. Suddenly the song changes from an appeal to clean up the the Hudson to a hope for cleaning up the whole mess that this country is ( always ) in; not just the river of pollution but the USA from pollution in all its forms.