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.
Polly Von
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By the cruel hand of evil at the setting of the sun
His arrow was loosed and it flew through the dark,
And his true love was slain as the shaft found its mark.
[Chorus:]
She'd her apron wrapped about her and he took her for a swan
But it's oh and alas it was she, Polly Von
He ran up beside her and found it was she
He turned away his head for he could not bear to see
He lifted her up and found she was dead,
A fountain of tears for his true love, he shed.
[Chorus]
He bore her away to his home by the sea
Cryin' "Father, oh father, I murdered poor Polly!
I've killed my fair love in the flower of her life!
I always intended that she be my wife."
"But she'd her apron wrapped about her
and I took her for a swan,
And it's oh and alas it was she, Polly Von."
He roamed near the place where his true love was slain
He wept bitter tears, but his cries were all in vain.
As he looked on the lake, a swan glided by
And the sun slowly sank in the grey of the sky.
[Chorus]
The song "Polly Von" by Peter, Paul, and Mary tells the story of a tragic hunting accident that resulted in the death of the singer's true love, Polly. The hunter had been out hunting at sunset and mistook Polly, who had wrapped herself in an apron, for a swan. He shot an arrow at her, and to his horror, it hit and killed her. The chorus repeats the line "She'd her apron wrapped about her, and he took her for a swan. But it's oh and alas it was she, Polly Von," emphasizing the terrible tragedy that has occurred.
The hunter then carries Polly's lifeless body back to his home by the sea, where he tearfully confesses to his father that he has "murdered poor Polly!" He explains that he had always intended to marry her but mistook her for a swan. The song ends with the hunter wandering near the place where Polly was killed and weeping as he watches a swan glide by on the lake. The reiteration of the chorus reminds us of the tragedy.
Overall, "Polly Von" is a beautiful and haunting ballad that explores the devastating consequences of mistaking one thing for another. It is a reminder of the importance of paying close attention to our surroundings and not jumping to conclusions.
Line by Line Meaning
I shall tell of a hunter whose life was undone
Let me narrate the story of a hunter whose life was ruined.
By the cruel hand of evil at the setting of the sun
He faced an unfortunate fate when evil took away his lover at sunset.
His arrow was loosed and it flew through the dark,
He shot an arrow in the darkness to hunt for prey.
And his true love was slain as the shaft found its mark.
However, he mistakenly killed his beloved when the arrow hit its mark.
[Chorus:]
Refrain
She'd her apron wrapped about her and he took her for a swan
He mistakenly took her, who was wrapping her apron around, for a swan.
But it's oh and alas it was she, Polly Von
Unfortunately, it was his lover, Polly Von, who he had killed.
He ran up beside her and found it was she
He rushed over to her side and realized it was his beloved.
He turned away his head for he could not bear to see
He couldn't bear the sight and turned his head away.
He lifted her up and found she was dead,
He picked her up in his arms and found that Polly was dead.
A fountain of tears for his true love, he shed.
He couldn't contain his grief and cried uncontrollably for his departed love.
[Chorus]
Refrain
He bore her away to his home by the sea
He carried her lifeless body back home near the sea.
Cryin' "Father, oh father, I murdered poor Polly!
He cried out to his father that he had killed poor Polly.
I've killed my fair love in the flower of her life!
He mourned that he had taken his beloved's life in the prime of her existence.
I always intended that she be my wife."
He revealed how he had always intended to marry her.
"But she'd her apron wrapped about her
He reiterated that when he mistook her for a swan, she was wrapping her apron.
and I took her for a swan,
So he took her for a swan, leading to the tragic outcome.
And it's oh and alas it was she, Polly Von."
He bemoaned once again how it was actually Polly Von whom he had killed.
He roamed near the place where his true love was slain
He wandered around the location where he had mistakenly shot and killed Polly.
He wept bitter tears, but his cries were all in vain.
Although he cried an ocean of tears, it wouldn't bring his lover back.
As he looked on the lake, a swan glided by
As he gazed upon the lake, a swan serendipitously passed by.
And the sun slowly sank in the grey of the sky.
The sun gradually set and the sky turned grey.
[Chorus]
Refrain
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARY ALLIN TRAVERS, NOEL PAUL STOOKEY, PETER YARROW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind