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.
Monday Morning
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Performer：Peter, Paul & Mary
Early one mornin' one mornin' in spring
To hear the birds whistle the nightingales sing
I met a fair maiden who sweetly did sing
I'm going to be married next monday morning
How old are you my fair young maid
Here in this valley this valley so green
How old are you my fair young maid
I'm goin' to be sixteen next monday mornin'
Well sixteen years old that's too young for to marry
So take my advice five years longer to tarry
For marriage brings troubles and sorrows begin
So put off your wedding for monday mornin'
You talk like a mad man a man with no skill
Two years I've been waiting against my own will
And now I'm determined to have my own way
And I'm going to be married next monday mornin'
And next monday mornin' the bells they will ring
My true love will buy me a gay gold ring
Also he'll buy me a new pretty gown
To wear at my wedding next monday mornin'
Next monday night when I go to my bed
And I turn round to the man that I've wedded
Around his middle my two arms I will fling
And I wish to my soul it was monday mornin'
The lyrics of Peter Paul & Mary's "Monday Morning" describe a chance encounter between the singer and a young girl who is on her way to get married on the upcoming Monday morning. The singer tries to persuade her to wait a few years before getting married, citing the troubles and sorrows that come with marriage. The girl, however, is determined to go through with the wedding and looks forward to the bells ringing and the gifts that her soon-to-be husband will buy her. She also reveals her eagerness to begin married life by saying that she wishes it was already Monday morning.
The lyrics of this song have been interpreted in many different ways. Some see it as a cautionary tale about the perils of getting married too young, while others see it as a celebration of love and commitment. Some have even suggested that the song is a metaphor for the Civil Rights Movement, with the singer representing those who opposed change, and the young girl representing those who were eager to embrace it.
Overall, "Monday Morning" is a beautiful and thought-provoking song that continues to resonate with listeners today.
Line by Line Meaning
Early one mornin' one mornin' in spring
One morning in the springtime, very early,
To hear the birds whistle the nightingales sing
I went out to listen to the birds singing,
I met a fair maiden who sweetly did sing
I met a beautiful young girl who was singing sweetly,
I'm going to be married next Monday morning.
She told me she was getting married on the upcoming Monday morning.
How old are you my fair young maid,
I asked her how old she was,
Here in this valley this valley so green
We were in a green valley at the time of this conversation.
I'm goin' to be sixteen next Monday mornin'.
She replied that she was going to turn sixteen on the next Monday morning.
Well sixteen years old, that's too young for to marry
I told her that her young age of sixteen was too early to get married.
So take my advice, five years longer to tarry
I suggested that she should wait for at least five more years and not rush into marriage.
For marriage brings troubles and sorrows begin
I warned her that marriage can bring troubles and sorrows in one's life.
So put off your wedding for Monday mornin'
I advised her to postpone her wedding until a later date.
You talk like a mad man, a man with no skill
She accused me of speaking like a crazy person with no wisdom.
Two years I've been waiting against my own will
She revealed that she had been waiting for two years against her own will.
Now I'm determined to have my own way
She said she was now determined to get her own way.
And I'm going to be married next Monday mornin'
She reiterated that she was getting married on the upcoming Monday morning as planned.
And next Monday mornin' the bells they will ring
She looked forward to the bells ringing on her wedding morning.
And my true love will buy me a gay gold ring
She anticipated her true love buying her a shiny gold ring.
Also he'll buy me a new pretty gown
She mentioned that her fiancé would also purchase a new beautiful dress for her.
To wear at my wedding next Monday mornin'
She planned on wearing the new dress to her wedding next Monday morning.
Next Monday night when I go to my bed
She then talked about her wedding night next Monday evening.
And I turn round to the man that I've wed
She imagined turning to her newly-wed husband next to her in bed.
Around his middle my two arms I will fling,
She described wrapping both of her arms around his waist as they lay together.
And I wish to my soul it was Monday mornin'.
She expressed her eagerness and desire for it to be Monday morning once again.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@wer1ther
I have known this song for 50 years. When I hear it again, it is just like the first time. I fell in love with this song long time ago. Such a pretty melody.
@airnut52
Theirs is a perfect blend of voices and hearts. Never again will a sound like this ever exist.
@dndcfint
How beautiful the song is but so sad
@davidanthonystone5165
The Harmony is Just Wonderful ------PP&M were the masters
@michaelloeb803
I got married on a Monday. Have always loved these guys beyond measure.
@PhuongPham-ld1ns
The beautiful song...Long times ago I love this song^^
@ming72237
Miss this song for 40years that I ever search until to-day I can hear Thanks to post that
@howellbe
So haunting and beautiful
@ChiaraCavalli
Good old song and so sad! Make me wanna cry!
@thanhtrung9475
I think this is not a sad song, despite the melody is sad slow