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.
Pastures of Plenty
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My poor feet have traveled that hot dusty road
Out of the dust bowl and westward we rolled
Your desert was hot and your mountains were cold
I've worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
I've slept on the ground in the light of your moon
On the edge of your city you've seen us and then
California, arizona, I make all your crops
Then north up to oregon to gather your hogs
Pull the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
To set on your table your light, sparkling wine
Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the grand coulee dam where the water runs down
Every state in this union us migrants have been
We'll work in your fight and we'll fight til we win
Well it's always we ramble that river and I
All along your green valley I'll work til I die
My land I'll defend with my life if need be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free
The song "Pastures of Plenty" by Peter Paul & Mary (Children's) tells a story of a migrant worker's life journey. The opening lines, "It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed, my poor feet have traveled that hot dusty road," describe the hard labor that the singer has endured. Born in the Dust Bowl, the singer and his family moved westward in search of work. The song is written from the perspective of a migrant worker who has worked in California, Arizona, and Oregon, among other states. He has worked in the orchards of peaches and prunes, gathered hogs, pulled beets and cut grapes from the vineyards. He has slept on the ground and worked hard, but his pastures of plenty must always be free.
Throughout the song, the singer mentions the places he has traveled to and the crops he has helped harvest, highlighting the migrant worker's contribution to the American economy. The song's chorus emphasizes that the migrants will continue to work until they win the right to free pastures of plenty. The song serves as a tribute to the struggles of migrant workers and the vital role they play in the American agricultural industry.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
I have experienced tough times where my hands had to work in difficult conditions.
My poor feet have traveled that hot dusty road
I have walked through a harsh, dusty environment that made my feet tired and weak.
Out of the dust bowl and westward we rolled
I left the dust bowl and traveled westwards to find a better life.
Your desert was hot and your mountains were cold
I have had to endure extreme weather conditions where the desert was hot and the mountains were incredibly cold.
I've worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
I have worked on farms where peaches and prunes were grown.
I've slept on the ground in the light of your moon
I have spent nights outside sleeping on the ground in the light of the moon.
On the edge of your city you've seen us and then
I have been on the outskirts of your city, and you have seen me there.
We come with the dust and we go with the wind
We arrive with the dust, and we leave when the wind takes us.
California, arizona, I make all your crops
I have worked in California and Arizona, where I helped to grow crops.
Then north up to oregon to gather your hogs
After that, I went north to Oregon to gather hogs.
Pull the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
I have labored to pull beets from the ground and cut grapes from the vine.
To set on your table your light, sparkling wine
Through my work, I helped to create the light, sparkling wine that you enjoy at your table.
Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
We create green pastures from dry, desert-like land.
From the grand coulee dam where the water runs down
We build and maintain structures like the Grand Coulee Dam, which bring water where it is needed.
Every state in this union us migrants have been
We, the migrant workers, have worked in every state of this union.
We'll work in your fight and we'll fight til we win
We will join your fight and persevere until we achieve victory.
Well it's always we ramble that river and I
I am always on the move, wandering like a river.
All along your green valley I'll work til I die
Even if it means working until my dying day, I will continue to work in your green valley.
My land I'll defend with my life if need be
I will defend the land that I work on with my life, if necessary.
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free
The land that I work on deserves to remain free, as my hard work and dedication are what make it thrive.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: WOODY GUTHRIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind