Courtesy of the YouTube page:
On July 26, 1956, the House of Representatives voted 373 to 9 to cite Pete Seeger and seven others (including playwright Arthur Miller) for contempt, as they failed to cooperate with House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their attempts to investigate alleged subversives and communists. Pete Seeger testified before the HUAC in 1955.
In one of Pete's darkest moments, when his personal freedom, his career, and his safety were in jeopardy, a flash of inspiration ignited this song. The song was stirred by a passage from Mikhail Sholokhov's novel "And Quie Flows the Don". Around the world the song traveled and in 1962 at a UNICEF concert in Germany, Marlene Dietrich, Academy Award-nominated German-born American actress, first performed the song in French, as "Qui peut dire ou vont les fleurs?" Shortly after she sang it in German. The song's impact in Germany just after WWII was shattering. It's universal message, "let there be peace in the world" did not get lost in its translation. To the contrary, the combination of the language, the setting, and the great lyrics has had a profound effect on people all around the world. May it have the same effect today and bring renewed awareness to all that hear it.
When I was a teenager, the teachers in my high school went on strike.
The students were told that if we left class to stand with them we would be suspended.
Of course being me, I did go out, and they did suspend me. However the strike was over in a matter of days, and my suspension was over at about the same time.
While I was standing outside in the cold, I suddenly burst into song. This song.
Soon all along the picket line voices were raised in harmony.
One of my best days ever, and well worth the few days of suspension I received.
:::: slow clap ::::
ReplyDeleteGodspeed, Pete Server.
"Where have all the flowers gone?
ReplyDeleteLong time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Gone to young girls, every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?"
I rocked my babies to that and other Seeger songs. That song still brings tears to my eyes. Sadly, despite this early indoctrination, my son is a NRA Republican wing nut. My daughters and I ignore him whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gryphen. I spent a few hours last night listening to Pete sing. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? is a powerful, passionate song for peace. I always cry when I hear, or try to sing, it.
ReplyDeletePete Seeger had a profound influence on my life too. So many lessons learned from the shameful McCarthy period propelled my generation to act against unjust wars and to question authority, The Cold War paranoia was a terrible burden for my generation and Pete Seeger was a welcome and positive force against its insidious negativity. I remember my teachers in the early 1960s in Seattle teaching us Seeger's and Gutherie’s songs. I had no idea this was a subversive act on some level. Thank goodness for the positive force of great teachers!
ReplyDeleteToo vague. I much prefer the harder hitting Waist Deep in the Big Muddy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXnJVkEX8O4
Oh, broaden your horizons, for heaven's sake. There's room in everyone's playlist for a range of emotion..
DeleteWe used to stand up and sing Country Joe & the Fish' dramatically ironic "Fish Cheer" in my high school homeroom first thing every morning...."4, 6, 8 whadda we appreciate? Don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam". We were right on the cusp of beginning the draft lottery and all the boys were (rightly so) fixated on their numbers.
Same feelings, different presentation.
RIP Pete, Woody and everyone who died for their country (whichever one that may have been) at home or away.
Wild Tortoise (humming the old/new tunes)
On Youtube, pull up Katarina Witt Tribute to Sarajevo. As an East German she won gold in women's figure skating in Sarajevo in 1984. In 1994, after the Siege of Sarajevo, she paid tribute to the people of that city in a routine to "Where Have All the Flowers Gone." I believe Pete Seeger helped with the arrangement for that performance. It is mesmerizing.
ReplyDeletePete Seeger was a true American hero.
ReplyDeleteRIP Pete Seeger. You will be missed.
ReplyDeleteOn another note: Gryph, I too remember that strike (I was 14 and I believe you were a senior at AJDHS) and I did chat with a couple of my fav teachers (Mr Switzer my German teacher comes to mind) but I never heard an announcement about being suspended... maybe they only said that to the juniors and seniors and not to us freshmen??????
I had my own "Seeger" fest in his honor and the words ring as true today as they did then. And then I recalled your post when he joined the march down Broadway with his walker, and I smiled through tears.
ReplyDeleteRIP Pete Seeger!