The group was created by manager Albert Grossman, who sought to create a folk "supergroup" by bringing together "a tall blonde (Travers), a funny guy (Stookey), and a good looking guy (Yarrow)." He launched the group in 1961, booking them into the Bitter End, a coffee house in New York City's Greenwich Village that was a favorite place to hear folk artists.
The group recorded their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary, the following year. It included "500 Miles," "Lemon Tree","Where Have All the Flowers Gone," and the hit Pete Seeger tune "If I Had a Hammer," ("The Hammer Song"). The album was listed on Billboard Magazine Top Ten list for ten months and in the Top One Hundred for over three years.
By 1963 they had recorded three albums; released the now-famous song "Puff the Magic Dragon", which Yarrow and fellow Cornell student Leonard Lipton originally wrote in 1959 and was on the charts in 1963; and performed "If I Had a Hammer" at the 1963 March on Washington, best remembered for Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Their biggest single hit came with the Bob Dylan song, "Blowin' in the Wind," which was an international #1 hit. It was the fastest selling single ever cut by Warner Brothers Records. For many years after, the group was at the forefront of the civil rights movement and other causes promoting social justice. Their later hit "Leaving on a Jet Plane" was actually written by the then unknown John Denver.
The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue separate solo careers, but found little of the success they did as a group, although Stookey's "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (written for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator Eugene McCarthy) was a hit and has become a wedding standard since its 1971 release.
In 1978, they reunited for a concert to protest nuclear energy, and have recorded albums together and toured since. They currently play around 25 shows a year.[1]
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2005, Travers was diagnosed with leukemia, leading to the cancellation of the remaining tour dates for that year. She received a bone marrow transplant and She and the rest of the trio resumed their concert tour on December 9, 2005 with a holiday performance at Carnegie Hall and were scheduled for several additional concerts in 2006.Sadly she passed away in Sept 2009.
Peter, Paul and Mary received in 2006 the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievment Award from Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Blowin' In the Wind
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Performer：Peter, Paul & Mary
Composer ：Dylan Robert
Lyricist ：Dylan Robert
How Many Roads Must A Man Walk Down
Before They Call Him A Man
Before She Sleeps In The Sand
How Many Times Must The Cannonballs Fly
Before They're Forever Banned
The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowin’ In The Wind
The Answer Is Blowin’ In The Wind
How Many Years Must A Mountain Exist
Before It Is Washed To The Sea
How Many Years Can Some People Exist
Before They're Allowed To Be Free
How Many Times Can A Man Turn His Head
And Pretend That He Just Doesn't See
The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowin’ In The Wind
The Answer Is Blowin’ In The Wind
How Many Times Must A Man Look Up
Before He Can See The Sky
How Many Ears Must One Man Have
Before He Can Hear People Cry
How Many Deaths Will It Take Till He Knows
That Too Many People Have Died
The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowin’ In The Wind
The Answer Is Blowin’ In The Wind
The Answer Is Blowin’ In The Wind
The lyrics to "Blowin' in the Wind" by Peter, Paul, and Mary ask a series of rhetorical questions that encourage independent thought and a re-evaluation of moral and political values. The song is a protest song that explores peace, war, civil rights, and the human condition. Bob Dylan, who wrote the song when he was just 21 years old, described it as "just a bunch of songs that I wrote before I knew how to write songs," but it is now regarded as a timeless classic of the folk music genre.
The first stanza of the song asks how many experiences a person must have before they are considered mature and respected members of society. The second stanza questions the constraints placed upon people's ability to live freely and the disregard of injustice. The final stanza asks how many warning signs must go ignored before people demand change.
The answer, repeatedly stated, is "blowin' in the wind." The concept of the answer being "blowin' in the wind" conveys the idea that the answer is everywhere, in the air, in every breath, in every corner of the world. The answer could be found by simply opening oneself to the world around them and to the problems that exist in society.
Line by Line Meaning
How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man?
How often does a man have to prove himself before he's considered a true man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
How long does it take for peace to be established?
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
How many wars must be fought before we can live in a world without violence?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The solution to these problems is elusive and difficult to find.
How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How long will it take for nature to take its course and erode the mountain?
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
How long will it take for oppressed people to be granted the freedom they deserve?
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
How many injustices can people ignore because it's easier than taking action?
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
How often do people need to open their eyes to observe the beauty around them?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
How many senses must someone have to be empathetic towards others?
How many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
How many fatalities must occur for someone to recognize the need for change?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
Searching for these answers is a complex and ongoing process.
The answer is blowin' in the wind
While the answers to these questions aren't clear, they are out there waiting to be discovered.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Dylan Robert
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@actarusfleed6607
Oh how I long to go back in time and live through those wonderful years.
@user-mx7hc6kw4z
Got told off by my English teacher for referring to this one .Still.a lot of turning a bind eye to it all shame on us all❤❤❤❤❤😂😊😅😂❤❤xxxx❤❤
@marylyn5965
This song should be playing everywhere right now around the world. Peace. ☮️✌️
@juliereminiec4937
Especially in the Ukraine!😭
@lebe220
The world is into a rough ride: Most people addicted to: Drugs, orgasm, alkohol, shopping, power, money....Destroys peace, but nobody, especially Bob Dylan (loves money) seems to understand.
@lmac6388
And Russia. It is quintessentially an anti conscription song.
@chonjason8471
@L Mac aQQQqqq
@beyondalpha1072
Commie scum
@tounoni
I am searching for and listening to all my mum's favourite songs online. I am crying as I listen to each of them. Mum RIP, I love and miss you so much
@jackmandu
Your Mom obviously had great taste in music. My condolences on your loss.