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)
Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
Pete Seeger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was a member of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in-a Louisiana,
One night by the light of the moon.
The captain told us to ford a river,
That's how it all begun.
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,
But the big fool said to push on.
The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place.
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were, waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.
The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him.
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were, neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.
All at once, the moon clouded over,
We heard a gurgling cry.
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.
We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been.
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.
Well, I'm not going to point any moral,
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're, waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!
Pete Seeger's song Waist Deep in the Big Muddy is a thinly veiled commentary on the Vietnam War, even though it was written and first performed in the 1960s during the Cold War. The song is set in 1942 during military maneuvers, but Seeger uses the story to criticize the political leadership that sent soldiers into a war they couldn't win. In the song, the captain of the platoon orders his soldiers to cross a river, but the water gets deeper and deeper, and the captain becomes more and more irrational. Eventually, as the platoon is neck-deep in the water, the captain drowns, leaving the Sergeant in charge to save the rest of the platoon.
The key to the song is the line "the big fool says to push on," which represents the political and military leadership who were insisting that the war could be won despite mounting evidence to the contrary. The song is both a warning against blindly following authority and a call to action for citizens to resist unjust policies. The chorus of the song is a reminder that we are still waist-deep in the Big Muddy, and that we need to speak out against those who would lead us into danger.
Line by Line Meaning
It was back in nineteen forty-two,
The story starts in the year 1942
I was a member of a good platoon.
The storyteller was a member of a good platoon
We were on maneuvers in-a Louisiana,
They were on a military training exercise in Louisiana
One night by the light of the moon.
During one night while the moon was out
The captain told us to ford a river,
The captain ordered them to cross a river by wading through it
That's how it all begun.
This is the beginning of the story
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,
They were up to their knees in the muddy river
But the big fool said to push on.
The captain insisted they continue even though it was risky
The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
The Sergeant questioned the captain's orders
This is the best way back to the base?"
He wanted to make sure it was the safest way back to the base
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
The captain reassured the sergeant that he had crossed the river before
'Bout a mile above this place.
One mile upriver from their current location
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
The captain accepted the soggy conditions and expected his men to push through
We'll soon be on dry ground."
The captain believed they would soon reach dry land
We were, waist deep in the Big Muddy
They were now waist deep in the muddy river
And the big fool said to push on.
The captain still insisted they continue despite the increased risk
The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
The Sergeant pointed out that the men couldn't swim with all their equipment
No man will be able to swim."
He believed none of the men would be able to swim through the river
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The captain called the sergeant a coward
The Captain said to him.
The captain asserted his authority
"All we need is a little determination;
The captain believed determination was all they needed to succeed
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
He encouraged his men to follow him
We were, neck deep in the Big Muddy
Now they were up to their necks in the muddy river
And the big fool said to push on.
The captain still insisted on moving forward despite the situation
All at once, the moon clouded over,
Suddenly, the moon was obscured by clouds
We heard a gurgling cry.
They heard someone cry for help
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
The captain's helmet was all that remained
Was all that floated by.
It floated down the river
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
The Sergeant took charge of the situation
I'm in charge from now on."
He asserted his authority
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
They escaped the dangerous situation
With the captain dead and gone.
However, the captain didn't make it out alive
We stripped and dived and found his body
They stripped off their equipment and dived in to retrieve his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
He was trapped in quicksand in the river
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
The captain underestimated the depth of the water
Than the place he'd once before been.
It was deeper than where he had previously crossed the river
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
Another stream flowed into the already muddy river
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.
Half a mile from where they crossed the river
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
They were fortunate to have made it out
When the big fool said to push on.
Despite the danger, the captain still insisted on moving forward
Well, I'm not going to point any moral,
The storyteller isn't going to preach a lesson
I'll leave that for yourself
He leaves it up to the listener to interpret the story's meaning
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
The dangers of blindly following orders from those in authority still exist
You'd like to keep your health.
Everyone wants to stay safe and healthy
But every time I read the papers
The storyteller is reminded of the story
That old feeling comes on;
He feels the same emotions again
We're, waist deep in the Big Muddy
The story is a metaphor for a dangerous situation
And the big fool says to push on.
People in power may continue to make reckless decisions
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
The metaphorical situation is getting worse
And the big fool says to push on.
Those in charge continue to make dangerous choices
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
The situation is getting more and more dangerous
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Even tall people will soon be in trouble
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
The danger is increasing rapidly
And the big fool says to push on!
Despite the increasing danger, they still move forward
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: PETE SEEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marek Józwik
Lyrics:
It was back in nineteen forty-two
I was a member of a good platoon
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna
One night by the light of the moon
The captain told us to ford a river
That's how it all begun
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy
But the big fool said to push on
The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on
The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on
All at once, the moon clouded over
We heard a gurgling cry
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone
We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on
Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head
We're waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
1978garfield
@Luca Yup, that was his problem with Nam.
We were fighting his friends the communists.
He wrote an anti WWII song back when Russia and Germany were friends.
When Germany double crossed Russia and now the Communists needed help he supported the war and recalled that record.
As far as Pete was concerned the only good war helps Communism.
I disagree with him, I disagree with Communism, Socialism (including the National Socialism Hitler pushed) and any other type of government with centralized power, central planners, 5 year plans and great leaps forward.
Sadly that often means I disagree with how things are being run here at home no matter which team has the ball for 4 years.
I still like much Pete Seeger's music and think he was a good person who did a lot of good.
That doesn't change the fact that he was a communist.
Moe D.
It's the 23 Juli of the year 2021. And I feel we are going more and more further into the big muddy... Great song 👌 RIP Pete
Zombienomicon
Hello from 15 August 2021
if only you knew how bad things really are
Smol Sagaci
@Zombienomicon Hello from March 21 2022. August 15 was just a preview of what’s actually happening in 2022.
Maximvs Dread
You don't even wanna know how it is in July 2022 :(
Eric Little
2023---- So true and in more ways than one
im annonymous
Wow what balls this guy had.
Genius , not a fan of his 4 string banjo frailin, but this , this is different.
It moved me , thats what great art does.
Marek Józwik
Lyrics:
It was back in nineteen forty-two
I was a member of a good platoon
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna
One night by the light of the moon
The captain told us to ford a river
That's how it all begun
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy
But the big fool said to push on
The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on
The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on
All at once, the moon clouded over
We heard a gurgling cry
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone
We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on
Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head
We're waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on
Mr. Ramfan
Thanks for this....
Joshua Austin
So strange how relevant and true this still rings today
LetArtsLive
This man Pete Seeger lived out in a cabin a really nice cabin no electric no nothing he raised his children there he cleaned up the river the Hudson River Project he did a lot for the world and then he died