The group made its television debut in either 1961 or 1962 on a talk show hosted by Mike Wallace and Joyce Davidson, though neither audio nor video footage has yet been found. By 1963, Peter, Paul, and Mary had recorded three albums. All three were in the Top ten the week of President Kennedy's assassination.
That year, the group also released "Puff the Magic Dragon", which Yarrow and fellow Cornell student Leonard Lipton had written in 1959, 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. One of their biggest hit singles was the Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind. They also sang other Bob Dylan songs, such as: "The Times They Are a-Changin'"; "Don't Think Twice, it's Alright"; and "When the Ship Comes In".
"Leaving On A Jet Plane" became their only #1 hit (as well as their final Top 40 hit) in December 1969, and was written by John Denver (who already had some success with The Chad Mitchell Trio), and first appeared on their Album 1700 in 1967. "Day Is Done", a #21 hit in June 1969, was the last Hot 100 hit that the trio recorded.
The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, but found little of the success which they had experienced 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 45 shows a year.[1]
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
The trio became political activists for their commitment to peace in Central America and for supporting musically and personally the peace and social justice movement in America. Their inveterate support for Israel distinguishes them from other major folk singing groups and implies a uniqueness of consideration and courage in their political choices. They were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience on September 1, 1990.[2]
In 2004, Travers was diagnosed with leukemia, leading to the cancellation of the remaining tour dates for that year. She received a bone marrow transplant and is recovering. She and the rest of the trio resumed their concert tour on December 9, 2005 with a holiday performance at Carnegie Hall.
Peter, Paul, and Mary received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
The trio sang in Mitchell, South Dakota, for the George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership dedication concert on October 5, 2006.
The trio canceled several dates of their summer 2007 tour, as Mary took longer than expected to recover from back surgery and later had to undergo a second surgery, further postponing the tour.[1] They will make up at least one of the dates, at the Northfork Theatre (formerly Westbury Music Fair) in June 2008.
Weep For Jamie
Peter Paul & Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of Jamie's door
Is aching loneliness
One, two, three, four
She dances with
The ancient fears
With porcelain smiles
Weep for Jamie
For the bones that tear
At her flesh inside
Weep for Jamie
She lives in the land
Where her father died
Don't try to answer
Her helpless call
She can't hear your words
She feels nothing at all
With no tomorrow
Promised by today
She's the child
Of emptiness and yesterday
Weep for Jamie
For the bones that tear
At her flesh inside
Weep for Jamie
She lives in the land
Where her father died
I'll sing you one
Of a song without an end
I'll sing you two
Of a tree that cannot bend
I'll sing you three
Of a womb that never filled
And the fourth deepest wound
And the love that it killed
Weep for Jamie
For the bones that tear
At her flesh inside
Weep for Jamie
She lives in the land
Where her father died
These lyrics describe the haunting loneliness that resides behind the door of a girl named Jamie. The first two lines create a sense of distance, as if the singer is observing her from a distance. Jamie's room is a place of "aching loneliness," and the repetition of "one, two, three, four" may suggest a counting out, as if Jamie is marking time that drags by slowly.
The following verse paints a picture of Jamie as she dances with fears that have been around since ancient times. Her smiles seem artificial, and her tears never seem to break free from her eyes. The next stanza describes how Jamie's condition is tragic, a broken spirit living in a place that is akin to where her father died.
The song then urges us to accept that Jamie is beyond help. We should “weep for Jamie” because she is experiencing the tearing of bones within herself. There is no hope of a better future for her, and she lives in the land where her father died. As the song concludes, the singer offers to sing a song about the endlessness of pain and the inability to escape it.
Line by Line Meaning
The other side
Behind Jamie's door is something troubling
Of Jamie's door
Referring to what's on the other side of Jamie's door
Is aching loneliness
Jamie is incredibly lonely and craving social contact and companionship
One, two, three, four
Counting to the rhythm of the song
She dances with
Jamie is struggling with
The ancient fears
Deep-seated and long-lasting fears
With porcelain smiles
Jamie splinters on a happy persona as a means of making life more bearable
And wetless tears
Jamie's anguish is so great she can no longer cry
Weep for Jamie
The chorus, calling on the listener's empathy for Jamie
For the bones that tear
A metaphor for something inside Jamie that is causing her great physical and emotional pain
At her flesh inside
Continuation of the previous line; referred to Jamie's internal torment
She lives in the land
Jamie's current place of residence is
Where her father died
Her father's death traumatized her and is still affecting her life
Don't try to answer
Don't try to offer solutions to Jamie's problems
Her helpless call
Jamie's cries for help are ignored
She can't hear your words
Jamie feels alone and disconnected regardless of how anyone else is trying to comfort her
She feels nothing at all
Jamie is numb, emotionally dead from struggling for so long
With no tomorrow
Jamie can't conceive of a future for herself
Promised by today
Jamie doesn't believe her present circumstances will lead to a better future
She's the child
While not literally a child, Jamie feels helpless and vulnerable
Of emptiness and yesterday
Jamie's past is haunting her, and her present is bleak and vacant
I'll sing you one
The forthcoming lyrics are about to commence
Of a song without an end
The song will ultimately continue and won't ever finish
I'll sing you two
Multiple layers to the songs
Of a tree that cannot bend
A metaphor for a person who is rigid and inflexible
I'll sing you three
Continuation of the previous lyric
Of a womb that never filled
A mother who tried to have children but isn't able to
And the fourth deepest wound
Most severe wound that is causing the most pain
And the love that it killed
How love can sometimes lead to destruction and cause pain to both parties involved
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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