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.
Hush-A-Bye
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses
Dapples and greys, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses
Way down yonder, in the meadow
Poor little baby cryin' "mama"
Birds and the butterflies flutter 'round his eyes
Poor little baby cryin' "mama"
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep you little baby
When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses
Dapples and greys, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses
The lyrics to Peter Paul & Mary's song Hush-A-Bye paint a picture of a mother trying to soothe her crying baby to sleep. She uses the common lullaby phrase of "Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep you little baby" which is often used to calm babies. As the baby drifts off, the mother promises that when they wake up, they will be surrounded by "all the pretty little horses". These horses are described as being dapples and greys, pintos and bays, which are all different varieties of colors and patterns that horses can have.
The imagery in the song continues as the mother paints a picture of a meadow where the baby is surrounded by birds and butterflies. However, the lyrics also hint at a sense of sadness or longing as the baby cries out for their mother. The repetition of the phrase "poor little baby crying 'mama'" adds an emotional depth to the song that is not often acknowledged when it is used as a lullaby.
Overall, the lyrics to Hush-A-Bye provide a gentle and soothing message while also hinting at a more complex emotional state of both the mother and the baby. The use of imagery and repetition of phrases help to create a dream-like quality to the song that is perfect for lulling a baby to sleep.
Line by Line Meaning
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep you little baby
Lullaby to a baby, urging them to sleep and not cry
When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses
The baby will be rewarded with the beauty of the world when they awake
Dapples and greys, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses
Describing the various colors and types of horses the baby will see when they wake up
Way down yonder, in the meadow
Referring to a distant location, far away from the present moment
Poor little baby cryin' "mama"
The baby is upset and crying for their mother's comfort
Birds and the butterflies flutter 'round his eyes
The baby is surrounded by the beauty of nature, but is too upset to appreciate it
Poor little baby cryin' "mama"
Repeating the baby's distress and need for their mother
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NOEL PAUL STOOKEY, PETER YARROW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@juliasamson9559
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep you little baby
When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses
Dapples and greys, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses
Way down yonder, in the meadow
Poor little baby cryin' "mama"
Birds and the butterflies flutter 'round his eyes
Poor little baby cryin' "mama"
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep you little baby
When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses
Dapples and greys, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses
@bobbyscott1000
Sang this to all my babies and now my grandchildren and soon my great grandchild.
@irateoverlord.theresa1324
Me too!!! ❤
@ToniGlick
My dad had this album and I listened to it all the time.
@davidanthonystone5165
Tom. Everything they sang and their albums are wonderful but they were even better in concerts. I saw them from
The early 60’s until 2005 And Mary
Such a cool chick
@lankytor6396
My mom used to pat my back to sleep
@lankytor6396
I miss my mom
@lankytor6396
My mom held me. It’s 70’s
@rayraysamazin
Just heard this song on a kids show. Literally stopped me in my tracks. I havent heard this song in 20 or more years! Its so beautiful and relaxing 💜💜
@bobcrunch
I sang this to my grand daughter tonight, she loved it, and had me sing it several times. I only knew the first verse and I had it wrong, so I came here to refresh my memory.
@MovieTube4Me
I hope you kept your version. They will remember it because it was different. I say Rockabye Baby to both my kids, but I like you didn't know the correct words so created my own. Walking the hallways at night patting their little backs as I held them to me to put them back to sleep Rockabye Bay on a tree top Mummy does love you ye she does.
one day I sang it when my kids were both grown and they looked at me surprised and said you sang that to me and They knew the words were my own too. Something precious linked us forever.