Gilbert was born in New York City, daughter of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Her mother, Sarah, was a dressmaker and trade unionist, and her father, Charles Gilbert, was a factory worker.
Gilbert's singing was characterized as "a crystalline, bold contralto."
The Weavers were an influential folk-singing group that was blacklisted in the early 1950s, during a period of widespread anti-communist feeling, because of the group's left-wing sympathies.
Following the Weavers' dissolution in 1953 due to the blacklist, Gilbert continued her activism on a personal level, traveling to Cuba in 1961 on a trip that brought her back to the United States on the same day that country banned travel to Cuba. She also participated in the Parisian protests of 1968 after traveling to that country to work with British theatrical director Peter Brook. In the 1970s, Gilbert earned an MA in clinical psychology and worked as a therapist for a few years.
Various well-known younger singers honor Ms. Gilbert for the example she set for them, and the influence she had on their careers, particularly Holly Near, with whom Gilbert has released three duet albums: 1983's Lifelines, 1989's Singing With You, and 1997's This Train Still Runs. Near and Gilbert also joined Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger for the 1984 quartet album HARP (an acronym for "Holly, Arlo, Ronnie and Pete"). During that period, Gilbert wrote and appeared in a one-woman show about Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, the American labor organizer, and in a second work based on author Studs Terkel's book Coming of Age. In 1992 she accompanied the Vancouver Men's Chorus on the song Music in My Mother's House from their album Signature.
In 1991, Gilbert recorded "Lincoln and Liberty" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" for the compilation album, Songs of the Civil War, joining artists such as Kathy Mattea, Judy Collins, John Hartford, Hoyt Axton, and the United States Military Academy Band of West Point.
“ Songs are dangerous, songs are subversive and can change your life. ”
—Ronnie Gilbert, On the effects of hearing Paul Robeson sing when she was 10.
Gilbert continued to tour and appears in plays, folk festivals, and Jewish music festivals well into her 80s. She also continued her protest work, participating in groups such as Women in Black to protest "Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories."[8][9] In 2006, the Weavers received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. Gilbert and Hellerman accepted the award. Seeger was unable to attend the ceremony, and Hays had died in 1981.
Gilbert was married to Martin Weg from 1950 until 1959, and the couple have one daughter, Lisa (born 1952). Their marriage ended in divorce. In 2004, Gilbert married her partner of almost two decades, Donna Korones, when then-Mayor Gavin Newsom temporarily legalized gay marriage in San Francisco. Gilbert moved to Caspar, California in 2006.
Gilbert died in June 6, 2015 in Mill Valley, California from natural causes, aged 88.
A native New Yorker, Ronnie Gilbert was singing on the radio by age 12. After performing in various choral and vocal groups, Ronnie joined forces with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman to form The Weavers in 1947. The quartet, featuring Ronnie’s soaring contralto, exposed their listeners in the late Forties, Fifties and early Sixties to traditional and newly-written folk songs ranging from early “world” music (“Wimoweh,” “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena,” “Guantanamera”) to classic, comforting standards (“On Top of Old Smokey,” “Goodnight Irene,” “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”) to idealistic social comment (“This Land is Your Land,” “If I Had a Hammer” and "Wasn't That a Time."
Despite the group’s commercial popularity (beginning with “Goodnight Irene,” their hit records sold in the millions of copies), the politically aware Weavers were blacklisted during the anti-Communist hysteria of the McCarthy era. With The Weavers unable to tour, Ronnie moved toward a solo career as singer and actor in the early Sixties, recording albums and appearing in plays off and on Broadway. She subsequently earned an M.A. in clinical psychology and worked as a therapist before returning to the theater.
Drawn out of musical retirement by longtime devotee Holly Near for a series of 1983 concerts (captured on Appleseed Recordings' LIFELINE EXTENDED) Gilbert continued her musical partnership with Near and recorded three albums on Near’s record label (formerly Redwood Records) including a solo release, SPIRIT IS FREE. Ronnie and Holly's historic tour with Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger is preserved on Appleseed's H.A.R.P: A TIME TO SING. Another solo record, LOVE WILL FIND A WAY was released on Abbe Alice Music, a label owned by Ronnie and her partner, Donna Korones.
Ronnie’s 70th birthday tour with Holly in 1996 was celebrated with another Abbe Alice release, THIS TRAIN STILL RUNS. It contains two of her songs from her one-woman theater piece, "Mother Jones," based on the life of the legendary American labor activist. Ronnie also wrote the lyrics and co-authored the musical play "Legacy," inspired by Studs Terkel’s oral history “Coming of Age.”
Currently, Ronnie performs an auto-biographical song/talk called “Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life with Songs" for cross-generational communities. She coninues her commitment to feminism and global peace activism through strong participation in the Women In Black network, challenging U.S. policy in the Middle East and around the world. She is at work writing her memoirs.
(Based on a bio from Appleseed Records)
The Golden Vanity
Ronnie Gilbert Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the name of the our ship was the Golden Vanity,
And she sailed upon the low and lonesome low,
As she sailed upon the lonesome sea.
We had not been out but two weeks or three
When we were overtaken by the Turkish Revelee,
As we sailed upon the low and lonesome low,
The quickly up spoke our little cabin boy,
Sayin', "What will you give me if I will them destroy,
If I sink 'em in the low and lonesome low,
If I sink 'em in the lonesome sea?"
The man that them destroy," our captain then replied,
"Five thousand pounds and my daughter for his bride;
If he sink 'em in the low and lonesome low,
If he sink 'em in the lonesome sea."
Then the boy he smote his chest and overboard jumped he,
And he swum till he came to the Turkish Revelee,
As they sailed upon the low and lonesome low,
As they sailed upon the lonesome sea.
Now he had a little tool that was made for the use,
And he bored three holes in her side all at once,
And he sunk her in the low and lonesome low,
And he sunk her in the lonesome sea.
Then he swam back to the ship and he beat upon the side,
Sayin', "Captain, pick me up, for I'm drifting with the tide,
And I'm sinking in the low and lonesome low,
And I'm sinkin' in the lonesome sea."
"I will not pick you up," the Captain then replied,
"I'll shoot you, I'll drown you, I'll sink you in the tide,
And I'll sink you in the low and lonesome low,
And I'll sink you in the lonesome sea."
Then the boy he took his tool; in our side he bored holes three,
Saying, "Captain, I'll take you with me to the bottom of the sea,
And I'll sink you in the low and lonesome low,
And I'll sink you in the lonesome sea."
And we sank into the lonesome sea.
And we sank into the lonesome sea.
The Golden Vanity is a sea shanty that tells the story of a ship named the Golden Vanity, which is overtaken by the Turkish Revelee while sailing on the lonely sea. The captain of the Golden Vanity offers a reward of five thousand pounds and his daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who can sink the Turkish ship. A cabin boy volunteers to sink the Turkish ship using a tool he has, and he succeeds in boring three holes in its side. However, when he returns to the Golden Vanity, the captain refuses to pick him up initially, but when threatened with the same tool used to sink the Turkish ship, the captain agrees to bring the cabin boy aboard. In the end, the Golden Vanity also sinks, and the crew perishes.
The song's roots can be traced back to England in the 19th century, where it was popular among sailors. It has been recorded by several folk and country artists, with variations in the lyrics and the melody. The song's theme of heroism and self-sacrifice by a young boy has also inspired several literary works.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a lofty ship, and she put out to sea,
A grand ship set sail on the sea.
And the name of our ship was the Golden Vanity,
The name of the ship was Golden Vanity.
And she sailed upon the low and lonesome low,
The ship sailed through calm and lonely waters.
As she sailed upon the lonesome sea.
The ship sailed on the quiet sea.
We had not been out but two weeks or three
Only two or three weeks had passed since we embarked.
When we were overtaken by the Turkish Revelee,
We were suddenly attacked by the Turkish Revelee.
As we sailed upon the low and lonesome low,
As we sailed through the silent sea.
As we sailed upon the lonesome sea
As we sailed through the empty sea.
The quickly up spoke our little cabin boy,
The young cabin boy spoke up eagerly.
Sayin', "What will you give me if I will them destroy,
He asked what reward he would get if he destroyed the enemy ships.
If I sink 'em in the low and lonesome low,
If he sinks the ships in the quiet waters.
If I sink 'em in the lonesome sea?"
If he sinks the ships in the lonely sea.
The man that them destroy," our captain then replied,
The captain responded that he would reward the person who destroys the enemy ships.
Five thousand pounds and my daughter for his bride;
He would give five thousand pounds and his daughter's hand in marriage as a reward.
If he sink 'em in the low and lonesome low,
If he sinks the ships in the quiet waters.
If he sink 'em in the lonesome sea."
If he sinks the ships in the lonely sea.
Then the boy he smote his chest and overboard jumped he,
The boy patted his chest and jumped overboard.
And he swum till he came to the Turkish Revelee,
He swam until he reached the enemy ships.
As they sailed upon the low and lonesome low,
As they sailed through the silent sea.
As they sailed upon the lonesome sea.
As they sailed through the empty sea.
Now he had a little tool that was made for the use,
He had a tool specifically designed for the mission.
And he bored three holes in her side all at once,
He drilled three holes in the enemy ship's side simultaneously.
And he sunk her in the low and lonesome low,
He sank the enemy ship in the quiet waters.
And he sunk her in the lonesome sea.
He sank the enemy ship in the lonely sea.
Then he swam back to the ship and he beat upon the side,
He swam back to the ship and knocked on its side.
Sayin', "Captain, pick me up, for I'm drifting with the tide,
He requested the captain to rescue him from the tide.
And I'm sinking in the low and lonesome low,
He was drowning in the quiet waters.
And I'm sinkin' in the lonesome sea."
He was drowning in the lonely sea.
"I will not pick you up," the Captain then replied,
The captain refused to rescue him.
"I'll shoot you, I'll drown you, I'll sink you in the tide,
He threatened to shoot, drown, and sink him in the water.
And I'll sink you in the low and lonesome low,
He would sink him in the quiet waters.
And I'll sink you in the lonesome sea."
He would sink him in the lonely sea.
Then the boy he took his tool; in our side he bored holes three,
The boy used his tool to drill three holes on their ship's side.
Saying, "Captain, I'll take you with me to the bottom of the sea,
He threatened to sink the captain's ship and drown him.
And I'll sink you in the low and lonesome low,
He would sink their ship in the quiet waters.
And I'll sink you in the lonesome sea."
He would sink their ship in the lonely sea.
And we sank into the lonesome sea.
Their ship sank into the lonely sea.
And we sank into the lonesome sea.
Their ship sank into the lonely sea.
Contributed by Christopher M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@BobSmith-dk8nw
@@Perry_Winkle That's the segment of the Video where they showed her tearing up a picture of the Pope on SNL.
The problem with that - was that no one had any idea why she was tearing up a picture of the Pope.
One of the things that happens to you if you say something that sets a lot of people (or even one) off emotionally - is that from that moment on - the people you are dealing with are in Broadcast Only Mode. That is - they are so busy screaming at you that they are not listening to anything you say.
Another example of this would be John Lennon's remark that the Beatles were more popular than Christ. Here - he hadn't thought that was a good thing - but - people chose to think he was bragging - and no one was listening to his attempt to explain what he meant.
Now here - another factor in things like this - is you have people pushing an Agenda of some kind - who are taking advantage of the situation to push that agenda - without regard to the actual facts of the situation. They don't care about the facts - they only care about pushing their Agenda - and you have a lot of that.
.
@Top10BeyondTheScreen
What's your favorite talk show?
@meahdahlgren5875
I don't have one
@vannaty7
My favorite talk show of ALL time, is definitely David Letterman.
@MrAutism22
Geraldo rivera is my favorite trash talk show oh and jerry springer
@samanthatucholski8982
Ellen!
@nasskc896
The Kelly Clarkson Show
@Frito_Pendejo
This is a list of, "Famous people that said something I didn't like and I really wish they got cancelled but didn't."
@danlightened
Haha man!
@tbee1575
Right? This video is a mess.
@jschlegel3047
Yes. Exactly