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.
For Lovin' Me
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's what you get for lovin' me
Everything you had is gone, as you can see
That's what you get for lovin' me
I ain't the kind to hang around
With any new love that I've found
Movin' is my stock in trade, I'm movin' on
So don't you shed a tear for me
I ain't the love you thought I'd be
I've got a hundred more like you, so don't be blue
I'll have a thousand 'fore I'm through
Now there you go you're cryin' again
Now there you go you're cryin' again
But then someday when your poor heart is on the men
I just might pass this way again
That's what you get for lovin' me
That's what you get for lovin' me
Everything you had is gone, as you can see
That's what you get for lovin' me
Peter, Paul, and Mary's song "For Lovin' Me" is a classic example of a break-up song where the man is telling his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend exactly what she can expect for loving him. The lyrics are like a cold slap of reality for the girl, as the man makes it clear that he is not the type to stick around with just one woman, and that he will move on as soon as he gets bored. He sings that he is always looking for something new, and that he has no remorse for leaving her. The song is a lament, but it also has a tone of detachment, as if the man is already looking forward to the next woman.
The lyrics paint a picture of a man who is always on the move, always searching for greener pastures. He is the type to use women for his own pleasure and then discard them, with no thought for their feelings. He warns his girlfriend not to shed a tear for him because he is not worth it, and he has a hundred more just like her waiting in the wings. The man is not only unapologetic for his actions but even revels in them, as he sings that he will have a thousand more women before he's through. The girl can only watch as he walks away, knowing that everything she had with him is gone.
One interesting fact about "For Lovin' Me" is that the song was actually written by Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot was a friend of the trio, and they frequently performed his songs. The song was first recorded in 1964, by Canadian singer Ian and Sylvia, and then later that year by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Another interesting fact is that the song was actually banned in some areas because of its callous treatment of women. The song became a hit for the trio, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Line by Line Meaning
That's what you get for lovin' me
I'm warning you that I'm not worth your love and that I'll hurt you.
That's what you get for lovin' me
I'm repeating myself because I want you to understand that I am not a good person to love.
Everything you had is gone, as you can see
I have taken from you everything you had because I am selfish and I don't care about anyone but myself.
That's what you get for lovin' me
I am reminding you that you shouldn't have loved me and that you are paying the price for doing so.
I ain't the kind to hang around
I don't like to stay in one place for too long because I get bored easily and I enjoy the thrill of moving on to something new.
With any new love that I've found
When I find someone new to love, I don't take that love seriously and I don't stay with them for very long.
Movin' is my stock in trade, I'm movin' on
My lifestyle of constantly moving on to new things is something I have perfected and is what I am known for.
I won't think of you when I'm gone
When I leave you, I won't feel any sort of remorse or sadness because I never really cared about you in the first place.
So don't you shed a tear for me
I don't want you to waste your emotions on me because I don't deserve them and I won't feel any remorse for hurting you.
I ain't the love you thought I'd be
I am not the kind of person that you thought I would be when you first fell in love with me.
I've got a hundred more like you, so don't be blue
I have had many other people like you fall in love with me, so don't feel as though you were special or unique in any way.
I'll have a thousand 'fore I'm through
I will continue to have countless more people fall in love with me and I will never change my ways.
Now there you go you're cryin' again
I have caused you to cry yet again, but I don't care about your feelings or emotions.
Now there you go you're cryin' again
I am repeating myself to emphasize the fact that you are crying because of my actions.
But then someday when your poor heart is on the men
Someday when you are feeling truly brokenhearted, I may come back into your life again.
I just might pass this way again
I may return to your life someday, but I don't know when or on what terms.
That's what you get for lovin' me
I am reminding you once again that I am not worth your love and that you will only be hurt by me.
That's what you get for lovin' me
I am repeating myself to further emphasize the fact that you shouldn't have loved me in the first place.
Everything you had is gone, as you can see
I am acknowledging the fact that I have taken everything from you and that you can see the damage I have caused.
That's what you get for lovin' me
I am repeating myself one last time to solidify the idea that you shouldn't have loved me and that you are now paying the price for doing so.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gordon Lightfoot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind