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.
Long Chain On
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moonlight as bright as the dawn
I saw a man come a walking,
He had a long chain on.
I heard his chains a clankin',
They made a mournful sound,
Welded around his body,
Draggin' along the ground.
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
He stood beside my window,
He looked at me and he said
"I am so tired and hungry.
Give me a bite of your bread"
He didn't look like a robber,
He didn't look like a thief
His voice was as soft as the moonlight,
A face full of sorrow and grief.
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
I went into my kitchen,
Fetched him a bowl full of meat
A drink and a pan of cold biscuits,
That's what I gave him to eat
Though he was tired and hungry
A bright light came over his face
He bowed his head in the moonlight,
He said a beautiful grace.
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
I got my hammer and chisel,
Offered to set him free
He looked at me and said softly,
"I guess we had best let it be."
When he had finished his supper,
He thanked me again and again.
Though it's been years since I've seen him,
Still hear him draggin' his chain.
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
He had a long chain on
The lyrics of Peter, Paul & Mary's song, "Long Chain On" tells a story of a man who is burdened by a long chain that is welded around his body, dragging along the ground as he walks. One night, the singer sees him from her window and invites him to her home, offering him food and drink. The man, despite his weariness and hunger, shows gratitude and grace, leaving an indelible memory of his visit. The singer even offers to break the chain, but the man refuses, choosing to remain burdened.
The song seems to be a metaphor for emotional or psychological burdens that people carry throughout their lives. The man's chained condition indicates that he has a past that he is bound to, and the long chain is a reminder of that past wherever he goes. The singer's offering of food and drink may symbolize the potential for healing and comfort, while the man's refusal to break the chain reflects the difficulty of letting go of one's past, or the belief that it is impossible to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
One night as I lay on my pillow,
As I was lying in bed one night,
Moonlight as bright as the dawn
The moon was shining very brightly.
I saw a man come a walking,
I saw a man walking towards me.
He had a long chain on.
The man was bound with a long, heavy chain.
I heard his chains a clankin',
I heard the chains making a loud clanking sound as he walked.
They made a mournful sound,
The sound of the chains was sad and depressing.
Welded around his body,
The chain was welded tightly around his body, making it difficult for him to move.
Draggin' along the ground.
The chain was so heavy that it was dragging along the ground as he walked.
He stood beside my window,
The man came and stood next to my window.
He looked at me and he said,
He looked at me and spoke.
"I am so tired and hungry.
"I am exhausted and starving.
Give me a bite of your bread"
Please give me some food to eat."
He didn't look like a robber,
He didn't appear to be a thief.
He didn't look like a thief,
He didn't appear to be a criminal who would steal from me.
His voice was as soft as the moonlight,
His voice was gentle and quiet, like the moonlight.
A face full of sorrow and grief.
He had a sad and sorrowful expression on his face.
I went into my kitchen,
I went into my kitchen to get him some food.
Fetched him a bowl full of meat,
I gave him a bowl full of meat to eat.
A drink and a pan of cold biscuits,
I also gave him something to drink and a piece of bread.
That's what I gave him to eat.
That's the food I gave him to eat.
Though he was tired and hungry
Despite being exhausted and starving
A bright light came over his face
A sudden realization or enlightenment came over him.
He bowed his head in the moonlight,
He lowered his head and looked at the moon.
He said a beautiful grace.
He said a lovely prayer before eating.
I got my hammer and chisel,
I retrieved my tools to try and help him escape.
Offered to set him free
I offered to free him from his chains.
He looked at me and said softly,
He looked at me with a quiet, gentle expression and spoke.
"I guess we had best let it be."
"I think it's better if we leave things as they are."
When he had finished his supper,
After he had finished eating.
He thanked me again and again.
He expressed his gratitude and appreciation several times.
Though it's been years since I've seen him,
Even though many years have passed since I last saw him.
Still hear him draggin' his chain.
I can still hear the sound of his heavy chain dragging behind him.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY DRIFTWOOD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind