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.
Mon Vrai Destin
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
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Dans mes reves j'entends une voix
Qui me dit "Ne pleure pas",
Quel dommage mes yeux sont des source claires.
Dans mes reves j'entends une voix
Qui me dit "Ne souffre pas!"
Quel dommage mon ame n'est pas de pierre.
Mais les voix de mes fantomes ne connaissent pas la douleur de l'homme
La la la ......
La la la ......
Dans notre maison fragile et grise
Nous partageons le reve d'la vie
Et la lune souriait sur l'innocence
Dans un monde plein de nean
Meme les promesses sont do vent
Et le soleil parfois se perd dans les nuages
Ne me quitte pas encore,
Ne me laisse pas partir
Pourtant les cloches m'annoncent toujours mon vrai destin.
La la la
The French lyrics of Peter, Paul & Mary's song "Mon Vrai Destin" convey a sense of emotional vulnerability and a search for solace in a chaotic world. The verses depict a dreamer who hears a voice telling them not to cry or suffer, but the dreamer is all too aware of their own emotional frailty and the pain that comes with it. The voice speaks of ghosts that don't know human pain, yet the bells always announce the dreamer's true destiny. The chorus contains the simple repetition of the phrase "la la la," which may represent a simplistic, childlike response to the complexities of life.
The second verse starts by contrasting the fragility of the dreamer's home with their shared desire for a better life. The moon smiles on their innocence, but in a world of emptiness, even promises are fleeting. The sun disappears into the clouds, and the dreamer begs not to be left behind, yet the bells persist in announcing their unwavering destiny.
Overall, "Mon Vrai Destin" is a song about struggling to come to terms with one's own vulnerabilities and place in the world. The dreamer seeks comfort and assurance, but the world around them remains uncertain and unforgiving, leaving them to confront their own inner turmoil.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans mes reves j'entends une voix
In my dreams, I hear a voice
Qui me dit "Ne pleure pas",
That tells me "Don't cry"
Quel dommage mes yeux sont des source claires.
What a shame my eyes are clear sources (of tears)
Dans mes reves j'entends une voix
In my dreams, I hear a voice
Qui me dit "Ne souffre pas!"
That tells me "Don't suffer!"
Quel dommage mon ame n'est pas de pierre.
What a shame my soul isn't made of stone
Mais les voix de mes fantomes ne connaissent pas la douleur de l'homme
But the voices of my ghosts don't know the pain of man
Pourtant les cloches m'annoncent toujours mon vrai destin.
Yet the bells always announce my true destiny.
Dans notre maison fragile et grise
In our fragile and grey house
Nous partageons le reve d'la vie
We share the dream of life
Et la lune souriait sur l'innocence
And the moon smiled upon innocence
Dans un monde plein de nean
In a world full of nothingness
Meme les promesses sont do vent
Even promises are like the wind
Et le soleil parfois se perd dans les nuages
And the sun sometimes gets lost in the clouds
Ne me quitte pas encore,
Don't leave me yet,
Ne me laisse pas partir
Don't let me go
Pourtant les cloches m'annoncent toujours mon vrai destin.
Yet the bells always announce my true destiny.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOEL COIGNEY, MARY ALLIN TRAVERS, MILTON T. OKUN, NOEL PAUL STOOKEY, PETER YARROW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind