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.
Bob Dylan's Dream
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I fell asleep for to take my rest
I dreamed a dream that made me sad
Concerning myself and the first few friends I had
With half damp eyes I stared to the room
Where my friends and I spent many an afternoon
Where we together weathered many a storm
By the old wooden stove where our hats were hung
Our words were told and our songs were sung
We longed for nothin' and were satisfied
Talkin' and a jokin' about the world outside
With haunted hearts through the heat and cold
We never thought we could get very old
We thought we could sit forever in fun
Though our chances really were a million to one
As easy it was to tell black from white
It was all that easy to tell wrong from right
Our choices were few and the thought never hit
That the road we traveled would ever shatter and split
How many a year has passed and gone
Many a gamble has been lost and won
And many a road taken by many a first friend
And each one of them I've never seen again
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
That we could sit simply in that room once again
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat
I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that
While riding on a train goin' west
I fell asleep for to take my rest
I dreamed a dream that made me sad
Concerning myself and the first few friends I had
Peter Paul & Mary's song "Bob Dylan's Dream" is a poignant and nostalgic reflection on the passage of time and the loss of youth and friendship. It is a song that is deeply personal, yet universal in its themes. The singer speaks of a dream he had while riding on a train going west in which he revisits a room where he and his friends had spent many afternoons together. In the dream, the singer is haunted by the memories of the past and the realization that the friends he once knew are gone forever.
The song begins with the singer falling asleep on a train and having a dream that made him sad. He dreams of an old room where he and his friends used to gather and spend time together. The singer remembers the afternoons spent together in laughter and song, while the old wooden stove in the room kept them warm. They longed for nothing more and were completely satisfied with just talking and joking about the world outside.
However, as the years went by and the friends went their separate ways, the singer realized that life did not turn out the way they had expected. The road they traveled took unexpected turns, and the chances of sitting together in the same room once again became slimmer. The song ends with the singer expressing his heartfelt wish to relive those moments with his friends again, even if it means giving away everything he has acquired over the years.
Line by Line Meaning
While riding on a train goin' west
As I journeyed towards the unknown future
I fell asleep for to take my rest
I closed my eyes and lost myself in daydreams
I dreamed a dream that made me sad
I had a vision that brought tears to my eyes
Concerning myself and the first few friends I had
About my dear companions from the past
With half damp eyes I stared to the room
I reminisced and saw the cherished place
Where my friends and I spent many an afternoon
Where we spent some precious times together
Where we together weathered many a storm
Where we stood by each other in tough situations
Laughin' and singin' 'til the early hours of the morn
Jesting and chiming in harmony, till the sun woke up
By the old wooden stove where our hats were hung
Where could always find our hats, a roaring stove stood
Our words were told and our songs were sung
Where our words and songs echoed in the air
We longed for nothin' and were satisfied
We had all we needed and were content
Talkin' and a jokin' about the world outside
We discussed and laughed about things beyond that room
With haunted hearts through the heat and cold
With hearts burdened by memories of the past, through thick and thin
We never thought we could get very old
We never thought about growing old or parting ways
We thought we could sit forever in fun
We believed we could stay in that joyous moment forever
Though our chances really were a million to one
The odds were against us, yet we wished for it to last
As easy it was to tell black from white
We knew right from wrong without a doubt
It was all that easy to tell wrong from right
Our morals were as fundamental as the colors of the day
Our choices were few and the thought never hit
We limited ourselves, never considering other paths in life
That the road we traveled would ever shatter and split
We couldn't have predicted our paths would diverge and break away
How many a year has passed and gone
So many years have passed since that innocent time
Many a gamble has been lost and won
We've taken risks and learned from successes and mistakes
And many a road taken by many a first friend
Our paths had taken different directions and we lost touch
And each one of them I've never seen again
I never had a chance to meet them again
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
Hopelessly, I long for a reality that will never be the same
That we could sit simply in that room once again
That we could relive and savor that cherished moment from the past
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat
I would give anything to be back in that special place
I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that
I would sacrifice everything to experience that moment once more
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind