PDF Form. - Remembering Pete Seeger

Transcription

Michael Kennedy
Portland, OR 22 days ago
Twenty years ago I saw Pete Seeger crossing a street near the University of Minnesota. He had a
concert that evening and was walking to the venue with his banjo slung over his shoulder. In a
time, both then and now, when so many flash-in-the-pan celebrities travel via self-serving
entourages, here was one of Americas greats, whom I rank right up there with Walt Whitman. He
was saving some money, getting some exercise, and strolling along without drawing attention to
himself. Today, they day of his death, someone will probably say, “they don’t make them like that
anymore.” I think Pete Seeger would say the opposite. “They make people like me all over the
place, you just have to have your eyes open to see them.” In our time of battling politicians rather
than statesmen, and of news entertainers rather than journalists, and a culture that celebrates
money rather than art, it may be hard to find people like Pete Seeger, but I think he’d laugh at that
idea. They’re out here; you just have to be ready to see. So don't worry, Pete Seeger remains
such a vital part of America, he is always going to be with us. Just take the time to look and to
listen.
TH
upstate NY 22 days ago
To the Times: your beautiful obituary pays fitting tribute to one of the great Americans of our time,
and I hope that many readers of it around America and the world will develop a deeper respect
for the life of this man. It brought back many sad recollections of the dark days of McCarthyism
and the intolerance it generated. But this man, this artist, his defiance and courage to this bigotry
will be one of his legacies that will and should endure as long as the Hudson River flows. Pete
Seeger helped make a great river cleaner and a great country better. Thank you Mr Seeger for
the life you led.
Dual
USA/Canada 22 days ago
When you think of Pete Seeger's uncompromising commitments to the art of the folk song (and
the originators of much of American folk music), and his uncompromising courage in the face of
injustice and even personal political persecution, he seems to me nothing less than a heroic, pure
soul. Some of the contrasts to the commercialism of the "entertainment" world and celebrity
culture today are instructive. Seeger's legacy is large and will last.
dutchiris
Berkeley, CA 22 days ago
As Auden said of upon the death of Yeats: "Earth, receive an honoured guest . . . ." There will
never be another Pete Seeger.
Elle Eldridge
San Francisco, CA 22 days ago
I cried when I saw the headline. A great soul has left us. One of his favorite songs was
"Guantanamera" and the words expressed his heart's desires - "Before dying, I want to share
these poems of my soul....With the poor people of this earth, I want to share my lot." I also
remember him marching in the Occupy rallies in New York City a few years ago, looking very
robust. Thank you Pete Seeger! You were a great American! You taught us that this land was
made for you and me!
Susan
San Francisco 22 days ago
Thank you for picking up the hammer of justice, Pete.
Thank you for teaching us to ask where all of the flowers have gone.
Thank you for never failing to turn, turn, turn.
You were the very best of what we should have been made of....
William Messer
Cincinnati 22 days ago
I wish I and others had lobbied harder for his recognition with a Nobel Prize for Peace while he
was alive. Few deserve it more; others who have received it deserve it less. What a man, what a
life, what an example.
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NYT Pick
PAUL FEINER
greenburgh 21 days ago
The new Tappan Zee bridge should be named for Pete Seeger. Pete Seeger fought to save the
river from pollution long before many others. He founded Clearwater and he inspired many to look
for ways to keep the river clean.
If the Tappan Zee bridge would be named for Pete Seeger, motorists would continue to reflect on
the importance of a clean river everytime we cross the bridge.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
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Amit
The first month of the new year is not even over and we lose this great man. I was introduced to
his music by my uncle back in Calcutta, India when I was in high school. His songs had been
banned once by the Indian government for being "anti-establishment". I borrowed the cassette
from my uncle and listened to it for hours on end. His voice, his words, his message was
mesmerising. I could not get him out of my mind. He had visited Calcutta once before I was born.
I hoped against hope that he will show up again. And by a miracle it was announced that he will
come to perform. Gathering the tickets were a lot of hassle but finally the day came when his
concert was to be held. The small stadium of few thousands were packed. He was almost 70 at
that time and when he appeared on stage with his grandson, the whole stadium stood up and the
standing ovation went on and on. He kept asking everyone to calm down. And then he started
singing, actually we all started singing. He was surprised that so many people from Calcutta had
turned up and they knew all the words to his songs. He talked about India, various social issues
common all over the world and encouraged us to take a stand. The US elections were around the
corner, Bill Clinton was in office, Ross Perot was one of the contenders. He sang a really funny
song on Perot, which I can't remember now. In his usual sing-along way he ran around the stage
full of energy.
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William Dufort
Montreal 22 days ago
Senator McCarthy has been replaced by the likes of Ted Cruz, but who will replace Pete Seeger?
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NYT Pick
AmericanAbroad
Toronto, ON 22 days ago
I learned Pete Seeger's "We Shall Overcome" when I was eight years old, one of a handful of
white kids at Shoesmith elementary school in Chicago. My memory is that we sang it often at
school assemblies. In some ways, those occasions were uncomfortable for me. I understood,
even as a young person, that the song was not written for or about me: that it was about an
experience I did not share with my classmates. But the song itself is transcendent: You can't sing
it without feeling for yourself a profound sense of struggle, longing and hope that anyone can
share. Whether this made me a more emphathetic person, I don't know. But forty years later, I
still tear up when hear it. As a postscript: In 2008, in the very school gymnasium where we held
those assemblies, Barack Obama cast his ballot in that year's presidential election. Yes, we shall
overcome.
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Richard
Prague 22 days ago
This is tremendous reporting Jon. Seriously well done. Thank god for quality content.
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bookmanjb
Munich 22 days ago
I am 61. Throughout my life, Mr. Seeger has been a sort of kindly uncle, always there with a smile
and a song. If he lent his name to a project or a cause, I would know without a doubt that it was
something I could and would support. If any public figure could be said to be a moral compass, it
is he. I feel his passing as though he was an old friend.
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judgeroybean
ohio 22 days ago
Right-wing zealots persecution of a man like Seeger in the 1950's should be a lesson in courage
for the rest of us. We don't have to approach the bravery of Seeger to blunt the right-wing
initiatives today. All we have to do is vote and stand up for our right to vote. Seeger showed us
the way.
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Judy
New York City 22 days ago
RIP Pete. The world is a better place because you lived in it.
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Daniel Fitzsimmons
Orange County, NY 22 days ago
Given the recent revelations (in the NY Times, no less) that the NSA scrubs app data for "political
alignment," among other things, what Seeger said to Congress in the 1950s is still relevant
today.
“I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious
beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think
these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such
compulsion as this.”
Perhaps even more so, as Congress no longer hauls citizens suspected of "un-American
activities" before hearing committees, they just surreptitiously trawl through our phones for it.
•
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adirondax
mid-state NY 21 days ago
A real live American patriot. Not the Kraft cheese food, xenophobic, homophobic, faux family
values variety that the .1% wrap in the American flag and try to sell us daily.
Pete was the genuine article. He actually cared about the land, its people, and the country in
which he lived.
Pete helped the bell of freedom ring all across this nation, and lived his life with a sense of grace
and dignity.
This is a lesson for us all.
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nuevoretro
California 22 days ago
The Hudson River and the world will miss that spirit. Still learning stuff from Pete's banjo book,
now in its 400,000th edition... My favorite Pete Seeger moment: on the Johnny Cash Show, 1969.
ABC censors tried to keep Seeger off the show but Cash prevailed, thus breaking the McCarthy
era blacklist that had just about killed Pete's career.
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Dennis Rivera
Culebra 21 days ago
Yes!…The New Pete Seeger Bridge at the old Tappan Zee!!!…Help make it Happen!
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Mauiyankee
Haiku, HI 22 days ago
I am truly grateful to have lived in a time of Pete Seeger.
He has been a bridge to an American/Human spirit and values not only worthy of reflection,
but of continuing on, albeit without his presence, but in the music.
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Rebecca
Oakland, CA 22 days ago
I remember meeting Mr. Seeger at a park in Upper Manhattan, at a community fair. I was tabling
for a nonprofit I worked for at the time, I was about 24 years old. I was blown away to meet him in
person. He shook my hand with a firm, friendly grip and I told him how I grew up with his music.
He was so kind and respectful, a true mensch. I was so dizzy and star struck after our brief
encounter, it's a wonder I finished my work duties that day. Amazingly, my father also met Mr.
Seeger, when my father was in his twenties. My father is a gifted photographer and somewhere in
a box is a crisp black and white photo of Pete Seeger, looking typically determined and down to
earth. Thank you for changing our world, Pete Seeger.
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Safe upon the solid rock
Denver, CO 22 days ago
We have lost a great American today, one of the best.
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Clyde Wynant
is a trusted commenter Pittsburgh 22 days ago
As you rewind Pete Seeger's life and legacy you can't help but reflect on today's socio-political
climate, where protest has been all but strangled and where corporate voices are able to shout
down individuals, and think; this is what a patriotic American truly is.
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Sheldon
Raanana Israel 22 days ago
In 1967 I saw him at a free concert in Central Park. Towards the end of the concert, it started to
rain heavily. No one would have faulted him for ending the concert a bit early. He continued. A
stage hand ran out with an umbrella. Seeger shirked the umbrella and kept on singing for all
those who braved the weather. I think he extended the concert and sang with a joy born of
communicating with people. I loved that guy, and his songs. I still listen to them and to his
messages of freedom and community and peace.
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Deadline
is a trusted commenter New York City 22 days ago
Pete Seeger's activism and humanitarianism never flagged, even at an age when he could have
taken a well-deserved rest. He leaves a remarkable legacy of courage and commitment, and
defines what true patriotism is.\
And oh! The music!
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Red Pill
Washington, DC 21 days ago
Pete wrote a song that sounds like it was meant to be played after his death, "To My Old Brown
Earth." He tells us not to cry but I don't find it possible. We've lost one of the greatest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VHVY8KOzuw
To my old brown earth
And to my old blue sky
I now give these last few molecules of I.
And you who sing
And you who stand nearby
I do charge you not to cry.
Guard well our human chain
Watch well you keep it strong
As long as sun will shine.
And this our home
Keep pure and sweet and green
For now I am yours
And you are also mine
There is song in heaven today!
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Deborah Begel
La Madera NM 21 days ago
In the 1980s, I watched Pete Seeger sing at gatherings in New York City on behalf of the people
in Guatemala and El Salvador who were pushed aside and crushed by men in sunglasses
carrying rifles. Later, I bought a framed photograph of a younger Pete Seeger at a yard sale in
Philadelphia.
Now it is my turn – our turn –to write a song for him. Thank you, Pete, my song begins, for
remembering the poor and the voiceless. I sing your praises now because you fought injustice all
your life. You never caved in to the lure of the dollar. You never lost sight of the people who
needed your songs and your voice. You remembered that even the river needs a voice and a
friend.
Today, economic inequality is the face of oppression. Who gets an education? Who gets a book
to read and the tools to decipher the letters and words? My song is forming in my throat, where it
meets a moan and a cry.
Losing Pete Seeger is an international tragedy, but his beacon lights the future. I am strumming. I
glance up at Pete’s smiling face. We can do better. We will do more. There is beauty in the
chorus when we raise our voices in song and in hope.
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Bill Crandall
New York 22 days ago
I will miss my beloved Pete Seeger for so many reasons. 1) Because as a teenager, he got my
attention with his beautiful music in the '60s; 2) Because he warned me about Vietnam and going
off to a stupid war (which I eventually "did"); 3) Because he fought like hell to preserve the
environmental quality of the Hudson River, which flows into my beloved New York City (thanks to
Pete, you can actually swim in it now). Because he warned me early-on about living in "Little
Boxes". Just so very many reasons for all Americans to mourn and celebrate the passing of this
truly exceptional man! Bill Crandall
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Undercompensated
United States of America 22 days ago
The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Thank you Mr. Seeger for your music, life and legacy.
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NYT Pick
Mr. Atoz
Red Hook, NY 21 days ago
House Unamerican Activities Committee August 18, 1955
Mr. SEEGER: I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or
religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private
affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under
such compulsion as this. I would be very glad to tell you my life if you want to hear of it.
Mr. TAVENNER: My question was whether or not you sang at these functions of the Communist
Party. You have answered it inferentially, and if I understand your answer, you are saying you
did.
Mr. SEEGER: Except for that answer, I decline to answer further. . . .
Mr. SCHERER: Do you understand it is the feeling of the Committee that you are in contempt as
a result of the position you take?
Mr. SEEGER: I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my
songs, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known. I love my country very
dearly, and I greatly resent this implication that some of the places that I have sung and some of
the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or
philosophical, or I might be a vegetarian, make me any less of an American. I will tell you about
my songs, but I am not interested in telling you who wrote them, and I will tell you about my
songs, and I am not interested in who listened to them. . . .
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Jim Rosenthal
Annapolis, MD 22 days ago
A great obituary for a great man. I heard him live, many years ago, at Knox College, in
Galesburg, IL- a tall skinny man standing by himself on stage, accompanying himself on the
banjo. He didn't need anything else; he radiated the power of his beliefs.
He knew who he was, and what he wanted to tell people. He had enormous courage, and
inspired it in others. Godspeed, Mr. Seeger, to a well-earned rest after a life lived with humor,
conviction, and strength.
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83Recommend
Suzanne Tamiesie
Mountain View, California 22 days ago
Ninety four years were too short of time for us to be graced with this gentle man, his music and
his commitment to making this world we all share a better place. Go with God, dear Pete.
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Howard G
About fifteen years ago, on a sunny, mid-week summer afternoon, I boarded a Metro North train
at the Spuyten Duyvil station on the Hudson line.
I was on the way up to see the guy who made and repairs one of my instruments.
I boarded the train, walked into an almost-empty car, put my instrument up on the rack in its case,
and sat down.
Suddenly -coming from the seat directly across from me - I heard the sound of a banjo.
I looked over, and was greeted by a smile - which I immediately returned because he made it all
so natural and easy.
We chatted for a few minutes and I told him about my instrument - which peaked his interest and
curiosity because, as he told me, a member of his family had just taken it up and was trying to
learn how to play.
Our conversation drifted naturally to its end, and he turned back to his banjo - softly strumming
and singing.
He would have been perfectly happy to talk more, had I wanted to carry on - but I realized that it
wasn't necessary for us to talk to each other in order to continue sharing our company together.
I arrived at my destination and, as I stood up to leave, he smiled at me again and we said
goodbye - wishing each other well.
As I walked the few blocks from the station to the repair shop, I felt as if - on the one hand - I had
just spent a few moments with an angel...but on the other hand...I had spent it with someone who
embodied the true spirit of everyman.
Thanks Pete. It was a great ride.
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NYT Pick
Betsy
New Jersey 21 days ago
Pete Seeger may be the last of the best of the greatest generation. It's hard to see him go. He
lived his life not guided by the terms of a tightly drawn contract, but instead, ready to share a
meal. He leaves us with cleaner water, greener gardens and full-throated singing-along for our
souls. That's his communism with a small c. He was Inspirational with a capital I.
Today I'll be singing along to the old records and thinking about Pete Seeger, his values, his
actions and his spirit. Somewhere "way out there", I suspect folks are being treated to the best
banjo playing I ever heard. So long, Pete. It's been good to know you.
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NYT Pick
Nancy Lederman
A towering life. In his autobiography, Pete Seeger wrote, "When my wife and I were about 30 and
very broke, we built our own house, inch by inch, on a mountainside." He spoke of being glad
they did so, while they were young, not waiting until they had money or time.
That's what he did for us, not waiting but moving forward, his life was an American house, built
inch by inch on a mountainside. What a view he gave us!
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MC
Honolulu, HI 22 days ago
There's a hole in my heart.
I guess Pete would say "Fill it with song."
http://youtu.be/RMTKb-pgxGI
"When you get up in the morning
And you see that crazy sun ...."
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Joanne
NYC/SF/BOS 22 days ago
It's the hammer of justice,
It's the bell of freedom,
It's the song we sing to our brothers and sisters,
ALL over this land.
RIP Pete
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JoeBlueskies
Virginia 22 days ago
Last night I was trying to choose a folk song for my mother's memorial service. She died a few
weeks ago at 78, and she raised us on Seeger, Baez, Dylan et al in the 60s, the music she loved.
In the end, Turn Turn Turn got the nod. Then to wake up this morning to this news was a little
shock. But I am looking forward to singing that song with the whole congregation on Saturday. I
will sing it a little louder now. I can still remember walking down country roads as a child, singing
Pete Seeger songs at the top of my lungs. What a beautiful human being.
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Steve Fankuchen
No one but Pete Seeger has managed to stay relevant for so long, inspiring so many generations,
adapting with integrity along the way.
Tonight even Abiyoyo will be shedding tears and the Bells of Rhymney will be tolling. For
everything there is a season, even our singing without his joy and inspiration.
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69Recommend
Tom Cochrane
Westerville, Ohio 22 days ago
He was blacklisted and called un-American, but really he epitomized the best of what American
artists can be.
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In reply to Dual
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NYT Pick
Slowriter59
Chandler, AZ 21 days ago
My father hired Pete when he was blackballed by the House Un-American Activities Committee,
and Pete stayed with us and bounced me on his knee.
Just the other day I mentioned to someone that I had been taught union organizing songs at the
age of three by the unofficial national curator of labor movement music.
Pete left an indelible mark on our Nation and will be sorely missed as a man whose life was a
celebration of the hope incumbent in the American Dream.
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Human In Training
We just lost an honest and honorable man. How may of us would have the courage to stand up to
McCarthyism as he did? May WE live our lives with as much passionate and gentile honour and
do some good in this world. We can youtub Pete and send him on while singing harmonies with
his songs. I also suggest reading his testimony to the House UnAmerican Committee. google it or
try this link http://www.peteseeger.net/HUAC.htm
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64Recommend
NYT Pick
Claire
Riverton NJ 21 days ago
DAVID O'REILLY, Riverton, NJ: I first set foot on Clearwater in 1971 as a volunteer crew
member, and instantly fell in love with its creaking rigging and smell of tar and wood smoke. It
took me a few years with Clearwater to realize I had actually stepped into the moral universe of
Pete Seeger: a utopian, communal "we can fix the world's problems if we all join hands" spirit that
seeped into everything he did. I was in my early 20s, and Clearwater and Pete gave me a sense
of community and worthy purpose I sorely needed back then, and for which I've always been
grateful. To my great joy, our son Chris is a part of Clearwater crew today, and as touched by
Pete's death as I am. Thanks, Pete.
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NYT Pick
Bucky
Seattle 22 days ago
I remember sailing on the Clearwater one sunny afternoon, probably more than 40 years ago,
with my father, Pete Seeger, and a whole crew of other people. I can't recall the context or the
larger events. I just remember feeling surprise that my father, a Goldwater Republican, was so
fond of Pete and so committed to his cause. He'd already been involved with the Clearwater for
years. But all my dad had to say in that regard was, "I believe he's the best banjo player alive."
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Kevin
Northport NY 22 days ago
Pete played a concert in Ithaca NY on an extremely cold night in the winter of 1970 at a small hall
holding less than 2,000 people. At 11PM, a security guard came onstage and whispered into
Seeger's ear. Pete went over to the sound man (sidestage) and exchanged a few words, then
came back to the microphone. He announced that the concert hall was officially closing but the
sound man said they could set up a PA system outside, and would the audience like to continue
outside. The audience cheered, so we all exited to the bitter 10 degree (F) winter night. Nearly
1,000 people stood freezing for more than 40 minutes while the equipment was being set up.
Pete came back on and sang for nearly an hour more until almost 1AM in the cold winter air.
Farewell, Pete.
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PB
CNY 22 days ago
A well written tribute to Pete Seeger. This gentle and determined man fought the good fight with
his music and his spirit. Though Lord knows they tried, he could not be silenced. He and his
music gave so many courage and got this country through some dark and mean times. Peace
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Anetliner Netliner
is a trusted commenter Washington, DC area 22 days ago
Pete Seeger embodied the best in American folk music and was a true patriot. His was a life welllived, and I don't doubt that he has gone to join all the flowers of which he sang. It does my heart
good that Mr. Seeger continued to perform into his 90s.
Thank you, Mr. Seeger, for decades of music. Heartfelt sympathies to Mr. Seeger's family,
friends, colleagues and fans.
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Smarten Up, People
US 22 days ago
First date with my wife of now 33 years---a Pete Seeger concert.
Thanks for everything, Pete!
56Recommend
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NYT Pick
Pedro
Arlington, Va. 21 days ago
Saw Pete on the National Mall in Washington hours before he was to play the annual
Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler concert in '98. Nobody recognized him. He looked simply like a tall
older man. No instrument hanging from his shoulder.
As he walked, he would pick up garbage and put it in his pockets. The real deal.
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NYT Pick
MizB
New York, NY 21 days ago
Pete Seeger was and will always be one of [the few] great heroes of my life. His music was an
inspiration, particularly because his life was an ongoing testament to principle, commitment, and
an unwavering belief that personal action, especially in concert with others of like mind, can effect
enormous positive social change.
He was a unique tower and shimmering beacon of progressive light. But he was also a man with
a private heart. When his wife Toshi died last year, I knew Pete wouldn't be far behind.
One of the proudest moments of my life came in 1994 when Mr. Seeger was among those
receiving The Kennedy Center Honor and I was on the outside public relations team promoting
the event. It gave me the opportunity to interview him by phone and not only did he speak freely
and candidly, he spoke to me as if I were an old friend and even sang two songs to me. We were
on the phone for half an hour!
May the great yet humble Pete Seeger rest in peace and live on in spirit. And may his death
motivate the rest of us to re-examine our values and re-kindle our activism.
55Recommend
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NYT Pick
Brock Walsh
Cambridge, MA 22 days ago
Long as this list of achievements is, it could go on for many pages. I was a young musician in
Poughkeepsie, NY, when first introduced to Pete. He was always warm and self-deprecating,
never seeking any praise or publicity, ready with a song, a smile, and a two-handed handshake.
We played many gigs together, on stage at the Last Chance or on the deck of the Clearwater. He
was endlessly patient with my questions, a great teacher and friend.
55Recommend
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Steve Fankuchen
Pete Seeger taught us many things, among them that, though you would age, you did not have to
grow old.
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S B Lewis
Lewis Family Farm, Essex, New York 22 days ago
Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, and of course The Weavers, stood as firm as they might. Raving
McCarthyism nearly flattened them. Paul Robeson, an All American from Rutgers, made his way
to Moscow to find peace - and returned, exhausted with pneumonia, his voice diminished, his
heart restored. In all this, Pete Seeger confronted our John Birch types and never caved. Never
gave an inch. We may need his kind again soon. Who will sing the songs needed this time?
55Recommend
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Ken
NC 21 days ago
Here's a song I learned a long time ago:
To My Old Brown Earth by Pete Seeger
To my old brown Earth
I'll now give these last few molecules of I
And you who sing
And you who stand near by
I do charge you not to cry
As long as sun will shine
And this our home
For now I'm yours
And you are also mine
•
52Recommend
Judy Allen
is a trusted commenter Beaumont, Texas 22 days ago
Mr. Seeger gave voice to the spirit of America for over three-quarters of a century.
He kept us in touch with the best qualities of the American spirit and he gave voice to them with
joy.
Thank you; we will truly miss you.
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52Recommend
Anne Russell
Wilmington NC 22 days ago
Wonderful man. Wish he could have lived forever.
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52Recommend
NYT Pick
Christopher Cavanaugh
Ossining, NY 21 days ago
I had the wonderful experience of a semi-private concert by Pete. I had been working closing a
magazine, and took the 11:50 PM out of Grand Central home. My wife and I lived in Cold Spring,
NY at the time. There were very few people in the first car. Around Yonkers I heard a guitar
playing toward the front of the car, and it sounded very good. I moved up to be closer, and sat
directly across the aisle from Pete Seeger. He played all the way up the Hudson Line, and was
still playing as I reluctantly got off the train at Cold Spring.
51Recommend
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Martin
His was the sort of integrity, courage and individualism that democracy requires, now in ever
shorter supply. We can still learn from him.
50Recommend
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Footprint
NYC 22 days ago
Pete Seeger brought us together as community, linking arms to sing "We Shall Overcome", and
now we mourn his passing and celebrate his life. My dad was "stoned" at Peekskill, my twin and I
went to Carnegie Hall on June 8, 1963 to celebrate our 17th birthday... and we saw (and sang
with) him this past September at a concert in Peekskill dedicated to Toshi. Pete's presence, his
songs, his voice and his heart are woven into the fabric of our lives. Boundless gratitude to you,
Pete.
49Recommend
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Enri
is a trusted commenter Massachusetts 22 days ago
A great person, great artist has passed. His songs will live on!
Thank you Mr Pareles for this honest appraisal of his life and his contribution to his life long
commitment to music, social justice, and environmental awareness.
•
48Recommend
Eric Mandelbaum
NYC 22 days ago
You didn't have to grow up on Pete - as I did - to feel he was a close friend. He was so
accessible; his melodies, his lyrics, his talks, his love of music and culture and children and peace
and communication, his friendships and associations... His spirit.
Someone mentioned how apt a Nobel Peace Prize would have been for him. Oh, goodness, how
true. I know this is Woody's song, but Pete sang it well and often! This Land is Your Land should
be our national anthem.
He was 94, yet I am still unwilling to imagine this world without him. We will not soon see the likes
of Pete Seeger again.
•
48Recommend
NYT Pick
f.azzarto03parknyc
Newton,MA 22 days ago
Pete Seeger was part of the soul of an America that is slowly disappearing or now gone.
Fortunately his songs and music will always be with us. "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and
"If I Had a Hammer" speak to a time when peace and justice were not just meaningless media
drival. He brought real Change. I can and will always hear his voice singing "Goodnight Irene",
Lead Belly's gift to him from the prison walls that still to this day keep Black America bound by
inequality and poverty and a racism that still we have not overcome as a nation. Pete lived for
real freedom, if only our government had matured and done the same.
•
47Recommend
NYT Pick
Bernie Krause
Glen Ellen, CA 21 days ago
This dear, inspired man and voice will be sorely missed. When I joined The Weavers their last
year, together, in 1963, Pete handed me one of his long-necked Vega banjos as a present. That
was just one indication of his grand spirit of generosity...a spirit that was never defeated and is a
legacy for all of us.
•
46Recommend
S B Lewis
I turned 75 yesterday. Pete Seeger was among the mainstays during my childhood recovery
starting at 10 in Chicago in the care of Bruno Bettelheim. That he knew nothing of The Weavers,
Seeger and Robeson did not matter. The songs of these folk singers brought reason to the post
war chaos.
•
44Recommend
Lou51
Western Australia 22 days ago
Bye, old dude. I loved your music and your strength of character.
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43Recommend
Adam Lipson
Nyack, NY 21 days ago
Pete Seeger - THE LEAST "UN-AMERICAN, AMERICAN"
My wife and I were saddened by Pete Seeger's passing. As a child in New York City's Greenwich
Village, my father would play Pete's albums and taught my brother and I the lyrics to "This Land is
Your Land", "If I had a hammer" and so many of his other songs.
My father told us that he was at a Pete Seeger concert in 1963 where Pete brought Bob Dylan on
to the stage and introduced him. Pete was a regular at the Village Vanguard. He was the guy that
stood up and was willing to be counted; labeled "UN-AMERICAN" during the McCarthy trials. He
was the guy that brought Folk Music to all of us, that sang with Woody Guthrie and Arlo Guthrie.
He sang for jobs, he sang against Vietnam and he sang for a clean planet. For all of his faith and
conviction, he was never truly honored for his contributions to music and to society until his 90th
Birthday party star-studded concert at Madison Square Garden....a show I am likely never to
forget and later honored again playing for Barack Obama with Bruce Springsteen on
Washington's Mall. He embodied all that we hope for in our next generation..
For those of you that saw Pete perform, it was obvious that he loved singing with children on
stage. His music endured not because of the beat or the melody, but because his lyrics ring as
true today as they did 70 years ago.
The last time we saw Pete on stage, he had slowed down a little. I turned to Denise and said, I
hope he makes 100.
42Recommend
•
m.s.
nyc 21 days ago
I LEARNED THIS HYMN WHEN PETE SANG IT, GIVING IT NEW DIMENSIONS. Sing on.
While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness 'round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that rock I'm clinging.
Since love is lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?
When tyrants tremble in their fear
And hear their death knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near
In prison cell and dungeon vile
Our thoughts to them are winging,
When friends by shame are undefiled
J. S.
NY 22 days ago
Once, while in Beacon NY to see Pete perform at the Howland Center, my wife and I were
looking for a parking space, and we saw Pete picking up trash along the side walk as he
approached the theater. Another time he lead a sing along for our friend who was a member of
the Beacon Sloop Club when she passed away, and moved us all to tears. The world is a better
place because of him, and I only hope I'am a better person as well. Its up to us now, to pick up
the torch and keep the fire burning.
42Recommend
•
Smartone
new york,ny 22 days ago
There is power in song - Thank You Pete Seeger
42Recommend
•
Kenneth Ranson
Salt Lake City 21 days ago
A hundred years from now American children will still be singing Pete Seeger's songs and telling
the story of his life. When they are told that twice his career was almost ended by the United
States government they won't believe it.
41Recommend
•
Ellen
is a trusted commenter Williamsburg 22 days ago
Toshi, he's come home to you. You both have earned your rest after lifetimes of good deeds and
hard, hard work. Blessings. Love. Respect.
•
41Recommend
Steve Fankuchen
On rare occasions a comment appears here that adds something new to the discussion and,
because it may easily be overlooked, is worth repeating. Thus I post the following comment, so
that new readers may see it. Pete loved community and community organizing. What better way
for readers to honor his legacy than organizing around this proposal by Paul Feiner to name the
replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge the Pete Seeger Bridge.
"The new Tappan Zee bridge should be named for Pete Seeger. Pete Seeger fought to save the
river from pollution long before many others. He founded Clearwater and he inspired many to look
for ways to keep the river clean.
If the Tappan Zee bridge would be named for Pete Seeger, motorists would continue to reflect on
the importance of a clean river everytime we cross the bridge.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor"
•
40Recommend
Rev. E.M. Camarena, Ph.D.
Hells Kitchen, NYC 21 days ago
With all the comments mentioning protests, I feel it worth noting that the original meaning of the
word "protest" was to promise and attest publicly. Not to condemn or object to something, but to
promise something and promise something better than what we have. Looking at the arc of his
life, nobody can doubt for an instant that Mr. Seeger lived up to the true meaning of the word
"protest." He promised and… he delivered. We are all better for his having lived among us.
http://emcphd.wordpress.com
•
40Recommend
NYT Pick
R.D. Eno
Cabot, Vermont 21 days ago
I once told him he was a hero of mine. He walked away in disgust. I would tell him again, if I
could.
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40Recommend
Debra
is a trusted commenter Formerly From NYC 22 days ago
Oh God, he will be missed. This nation needs Pete Seeger more than ever. I am just so blessed
that I got to watch him on TV right before the President's inauguration. What a time of hope for
this country. Then the Republicans, with the help of the national media, tried to ruin everything.
But Seeger's message will live on through the President and others who believe in progress.
•
40Recommend
Fluffy
NV 21 days ago
Yes. A number of sniping ultra-rightists have made that observation here today. Most of them
have decorated their comments with distinctively similar complaints about his "inadequate"
denunciations of the Soviets. Their rote demands for orthodox groveling say more about them
than about him, since it's mighty clear that the grovel itself was their true desire.
It was his refusal to knuckle under that really gets y'alls goat, more than anything else. He was
our firmest bulwark against the current extreme-rightist re-write of mid-20th century American
history. This place was a ferment of ideas back in his heyday, and the extreme right would dearly
love to see many of those ideas 'disappeared' from the public mind.
•
In reply to Doron
•
39Recommend
Kalaichy
Seattle 22 days ago
To those of you saying that you don't want to let go of Peter: You don't have to. He has left over
half a century of his life for us all, recorded, video taped and all.
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39Recommend
buck c
seattle 22 days ago
The world is a far better place for Mr. Seeger having blessed us with his presence.
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39Recommend
Concerned Citizen
Chicago 21 days ago
There are few people in our lives that touch a nation like Mr. Seeger.
He reminded us all that we are part of a community, with a conscience. I know President
Kennedy and Martin Luther King influenced our generation to public service and justice. Pete
Seeger, through his wisdom inspired us all to do better. "I swear its not too late"
His lyrics (from Ecclesiastes) in the Byrds TURN TURN TURN remind us once again of the kind
of person Pete Seeger was and how I will fondly remember him:
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!
God Bless and Thank You Pete.
•
38Recommend
jwp-nyc
new york 21 days ago
A few points of historic accuracy to enhance the public's appreciation of the historical contexts
traversed by Pete Seeger:
His log cabin was actually built in Fishkill just outside of Beacon, not in Beacon itself. He bought
that land and built his cabin in 1949. What was significant about that is the fact that this same
year Mr. Seeger appeared in concert with Woodie Guthrie at the concert headed by Paul
Robeson in Peekskill, NY, where the historic and infamous ''Peekskill Riot'' occurred with the
complicity if not the active collaboration of the New York State Troopers.
Locals, fired up by anti-communist propaganda and possibly the FBI appeared with baseball bats,
bricks and possibly firearms, fueled by beer, the Associated press bulletins that Robeson
supported Communism, and beer. Guthrie and Seeger were forced to flee the riot along with
Seeger's wife Toshi and their infant. He recalled that Woodie covered the side window with his
shirt in case the bricks shattered it. He neglected to realize it was a red shirt. Seeger incorporated
some of the bricks that were thrown into the car in the stone work of the chimney in the log cabin
he built overlooking the Hudson from Fishkill at Beacon. That symbolizes quite neatly how Mr.
Seeger strove to make the most of his experience as an idealistic and optimistic American who
embraced the tenets of socialism and was an early advocate of the ecology movement.
•
38Recommend
NYT Pick
Dave K
is a trusted commenter Cleveland, OH 22 days ago
One of my favorites, which I remember hearing Pete lead when I was about 7:
Just when I thought
All was lost, you changed my mind.
You gave me hope (not just the old soft soap)
So we could learn to share in time (You and me and Rockafeller)
I'll keep traveling on
Your face will shine through all our tears.
And when we sing another little victory song,
Precious friend, you will be there (singing in harmony)
Precious friend, you will be there.
And to give you an idea of how effective he was, I just wrote that out from memory.
•
38Recommend
S B Lewis
Pete Seeger, Odetta, Arlo and his dad, Marais and Miranda, The Weavers, Paul Robeson, Burl
Ives, and later, much later, Peter, Paul and Mary produced the music we sang. We learned guitar.
We played harmonica. We were children left to learn what it meant to be abandoned by our
parents as they attempted to sort out World War II and their own lives. We were raised by a
brilliant Austrian that did not understand the American music or the American message. The
children in a mental institution understood that music. We worshipped those musicians.
•
37Recommend
NYT Pick
Steve Scheiber
Slingerlands, NY 21 days ago
One more comment.
On Pete's banjo you saw the words, "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."
A fitting epitaph.
Rest in peace, Pete.
•
36Recommend
Howie Lisnoff
is a trusted commenter Massachusetts 22 days ago
Pete Seeger was an artist of remarkable talent who used his gift to improve the quality of life and
stood up to government during one of the darkest episodes of U.S. history. Pete Seeger will be
missed! The great music he created will endure!
•
36Recommend
W J Duke Dufresne
Schenectady 22 days ago
Pete's unflagging progressive ideals coupled with his optimism, humor, talent, and love of people
certainly continues to inspire me.
•
36Recommend
Eddie Caspi
Ramat Gan, Israel 22 days ago
Pete was the soundtrack of my life, the ideas and ideals contained in those great songs still
resound within me. He never compromised what he sang and by including generations of young
people in his singing he led and encouraged us to strive for a better world. When I saw him
singing at Obamas' inauguration I cried, seeing him finally receive the honor that he truly had
earned from the country he truly loved.
•
36Recommend
mancuroc
is a trusted commenter Rochester, NY 21 days ago
I'm enjoying the thought that somewhere up there Joe McCarthy has to put up with Pete
serenading him.
•
35Recommend
George Tamblyn
Seattle 21 days ago
if you don't cry when you read these comments, you have missed something here.
•
34Recommend
Daniel
Be like Pete. Now. Always. And do it with a smile.
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34Recommend
sweeneyschallenberg
22 days ago
I was always very proud to say I shared a hometown with Pete Seeger. One of my earliest
memories was a concert fundraiser he gave for my elementary school's PTA in the 60s. Among
the protestors there were men who worked with my father. Dad walked up to his colleagues and
told them how disappointed he was in them. I was too young to understand at the time, but I
remember thinking what's not to like about Abiyoyo? Little Boxes? Turn,Turn,Turn?
Rest in peace, Pete Seeger. Thank you for your voice of song. It touched our hearts and souls,
and it brought smiles to our faces. And thank you for your voice for change. It made us a more
caring people, for each other and for our environment.
•
34Recommend
DinahMoeHum
Westchester County, NY 22 days ago
He was a genuine American folk hero, in the tradition of Johnny Appleseed. Pete Seeger planted
musical, social, political, and environmental seeds and trees. We, the children, grandchildren, and
future generations now eat the fruit.
•
34Recommend
Wasting Time
DC 22 days ago
My heart is aching. The world just lost a big chunk of the little good it has left. What a bleak, cold
morning.
•
33Recommend
anonymous12
US 22 days ago
A giant in my life has passed. Pete Seeger was greatly admired by my father, an anti-war activist
since the early 60s. Since then, he, along with Mike Seeger, and so many other folk songster
played the most important music of my life. What a great man, a great musician and artist and
most importantly, a great, great American he was! RIP
•
33Recommend
Kingharvest
USA 22 days ago
Those who are decrying Edward Snowden would be well-advised to read this obit. Seeger said
what he believed in and stood up to the madmen who were determined to try and ruin the lives of
so many good people. History repeats, does it not.
•
32Recommend
unreceivedogma
Pete's song catalog is an immense American treasure. And his defiant stance in front of HUAC is
well known to many.
It is interesting to note that HUAC's predecessor was founded in an attempt to get to the bottom
of a conspiracy by Wall Street's biggest financiers and industrialists of the day who saw
"communism" in Roosevelt's "redistributionist policies".
The Dupont and Morgan families led the effort to finance and form a para-military organization of
500K. Gerald MacGuire, a bond salesman for Robert Clark, one of Wall Street's richest bankers,
famously said "We need a fascist government in this country... to save the nation from the
communists who want to tear it down and wreck all that we have built in America." MacGuire
travelled to Italy to study Mussolini's fascist state, and told Robert Clark that they should do the
same thing.
The plot collapsed in 1934 when General Smedley Butler exposed the coup attempt in sworn
testimony before the "McCormack-Dickstein" Committee, named after its chair and vice chair, the
"Special Committee on Un-American Activities Authorized to Investigate Nazi Propaganda and
Certain Other Propaganda Activities". It held hearings in 6 cities, collected 4,300 pages of
testimony so as to get "information on how foreign subversive propaganda entered the U.S. and
the organizations that were spreading it."
Could it be that it was Wall Street's finest, not some communist plot, that has actually came
closest to overthrowing the U.S. government?
31Recommend
•
lars
nw ct 22 days ago
To quote the Bard, "His life was gentle, and the elements mixed so well in him that Nature might
stand up and say to all the world, 'This was a man.'" He will be missed, this inspired and inspiring
man.
31Recommend
•
Ellen
agreed. This obit, while quite lovely, is incomplete with our acknowledgement of his steel
backbone, strong will, and complete determination in the face of doubt and far worse. He was one
of the bravest men who walked this land.
•
In reply to Mark Kessinger
•
31Recommend
Daniel Bernstein
Palo Alto, CA 22 days ago
The world has lost its greatest champion for all that is good, just, honorable and humane. Who
stands so far above all of the fake, self-centered popular heros of our day, that his place is truly
unique? Who will take up the reins of protecting the vulnerable in our society as well as he did.
Who will stand on the street corner in the cold singing against war after senseless war? Who will
forgo fame for principle? Who will dedicate his life to providing a clean "golden river" for all of us
to enjoy? We'll miss you, Pete.
•
31Recommend
Jeffrey R
The South Village, NYC 22 days ago
his songs helped me find who I wanted to be and how I felt about our society ..... Thank you Pete
•
31Recommend
NYT Pick
Sam
I saw the comment that we should name the new Tappan Zee Bridge after Seeger, but really,
when you think about it, we should be renaming the RIVER after him. I cannot think of anyone
who has done more for that body of water.
30Recommend
•
Liz
NY 22 days ago
As a teenager, I regularly attended the Hudson Clearwater Revival and had the privilege of
listening to Peter Seeger and his banjo! In an age where there was still a generational divide, Mr.
Seeger brought my family together. My parents fondly remembered The Weavers' "Goodnight
Irene" and I greatly respected Mr. Seeger's musical talent and social activism.
Indeed to this day, I am awed and amazed by this remarkable man. While reading a book on the
history of Yoga in America [The Great Oom], there was a young Peter Seeger with his family at
the "ashram".
As a history teacher, the best way that I can pay homage to Mr. Seeger is to create a DocumentBased Essay Question on his life and music.
For in Pete Seeger, therein lies America.
30Recommend
•
donald tuohy
chicago 22 days ago
Thank you to a true American hero. Rest well Mr. Seeger.
30Recommend
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Nina
How can we lobby to have the new Bridge replacing the Tappan Zee be called Pete Seeger
Folkway, or something like that?
29Recommend
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Tom
Vermont 21 days ago
Yesterday we lost the sole of the 60's, no the conscience of our country, Pete Seeger. I have
seen him many times in concert. But I remember the last time maybe about 20 years ago he was
at the Champlain Music Festival and as the festival was winding down Pete started picking up
garbage near our tent. At the same time Aidan my son (~8 at that time) was picking up garbage
and Pete and he worked the hillside together. I know they had some conversation and I’m not
sure what was said but it made a lasting impression on Aidan. Pete made a lasting impression on
everyone who met him and he will live on forever in the hearts and soles of all who have heard
his music. Love that man!!
29Recommend
•
rad6016
Indian Wells 21 days ago
This was a great American.
29Recommend
•
NYT Pick
Mark
Ann Arbor MI 21 days ago
Where have all the flowers gone, indeed....Pete Seeger was one such flower. He was one of the
few surviving connections to times that were both challenging yet hopeful. Today, it seems we still
have the challenges but not the hope. It was his music, it was his message, it was his ability to
distill what we were all thinking into a few melodic lines. Now it takes a bit more than the "love
between my brothers and my sisters", but it is probably a good place to start.
•
29Recommend
Denis Pombriant
Boston 22 days ago
Enough said? About what? A lot of people who lived through the Depression were searching for
something better than the capitalism that kept them perpetually poor and hungry. Lenin was the
brains of communism and much more sympathetic than the monster Stalin. When Lenin died
everything changed. News and information didn't flow as easily then as it does today and stalin's
Russia was able to keep the lid on for a long time. That Seeger decided to wear the label of
communism should be far less important than the exemplary life he led. How churlish of you to
hold it against him like this.
•
In reply to Amy
•
29Recommend
NYT Pick
Bruce Saffran
21 days ago
I met Pete and Toshi in 1991(?) outside of Penn Station. I told him he was "a great man,"
knowing him to be much more deserving of that title than our leaders of that period. We sang a
few rounds of Down by the Riverside, "Ain't gonna study war no more! Ain't gonna study war no
more!"...as we walked together into the station toward our trains. Thanks Pete!
•
29Recommend
Michael
I don't recall Pete ever running away.
•
In reply to Kingharvest
•
29Recommend
mary lou
ann arbor, michigan 22 days ago
"inch by inch
row by row
i'm gonna make this garden grow."
--pete seeger
29Recommend
•
Kevin Ferguson
Arlington, MA 22 days ago
A communist with a small 'c.' Community-minded with a capital "C."
29Recommend
•
JO
Colorado 21 days ago
I write through tears. Fare thee well, Pete. We the living will keep on singing, though it won't
sound as good without your banjo. You were the troubadour of Life, songmaster of generations
who dreamt of the dignity of every man and woman, and who marched and sang to make it
happen. Your own journey was proof of the possibilities.
The struggle goes on, and so do the songs, of good men and women who won't give up ... ever ...
until they, we, overcome.
My personal favorite: "Which Side Are You On, Boys?" about a county where there are two kinds
of men: union men and thugs for J H Blair. We know which side we're on, Pete. We love you.
•
28Recommend
Bill King
Elizabeth, NJ 21 days ago
Better Idea - Flags at Half Mast Nationally for Pete Seeger. President Obama can announce it
tonight at the SOTU Pete was a National Treasure and it should be noed
28Recommend
•
Barry
Melville 22 days ago
If you want to know what it means to live a life of absolute integrity, based on selfless giving with
no expectation of or demand for reward of any kind, just look to Pete Seeger - "the richest man in
town", who touched us all without even trying. A wonderfully decent man.
28Recommend
•
P. Walnuts
NYC 22 days ago
There is something soothing in his storytelling. Abiyoyo lives and will live forever in our family as
the consummate bedtime story/song. Though he did not write Abiyoyo, he sang it to us and our
children as if it were his. Many an angst filled night was calmed by his gentle refrain. Goodbye
Pete. You stood up for what you truly believed in. Not something many people do any more
today. We will miss you. Heaven is a brighter place now that you and your songs have arrived.
You will keep singing our children and their children and their children to sleep from up there.
Some things I just know.
28Recommend
•
Pete
Pete Seeger was the conscience of this country. He will be sorely missed.
•
27Recommend
Ward Cheney
Concord, Massachusetts 21 days ago
There was a particular poignancy on hearing this morning of the death of Pete Seeger. He was a
creative, dedicated, straight-forward person who lived what I've always thought of as a loving,
moral life. He has been a quiet, and often rowdy, musical part of my life for fifty years. His is one
of the more significant, and moving, passings. I was thinking back and believe a album of his was
the first record I ever owned, played time and again in my boyhood room on a cheap, plastic
phonograph. I believe I was about fourteen at the time. A concert of his was the first live
performance of music I went to, at a college auditorium in Palo Alto, California, maybe 1968. One
could see from the audience, letters on the face of his banjo, words, Mr. Seeger explained, that
read, "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It To Surrender." A good and decent man who
worked long and hard at making the world a better place. This will sound corny . . . I feel his
music playing in my heart, and I trust it will be there for years to come.
27Recommend
•
Sara
Wisconsin 21 days ago
After reading these comments, I can't help but think that the best tribute to Pete would be for
each of us who shared his values and his song to begin singing again - singing about the things
that are important to us, recapturing real things not just junk food and advertised "values". His
was a life honoring the dignity of all - maybe if we all try to treat those around us like that it could
become at least mildly infectious. We've had an excellent example.
27Recommend
•
DWBH
Brooklyn, NY 21 days ago
The NYT profile well depicts who he really was: a populist heir of Woody Guthrie, a principled
man who was indicted for refusing to name names in the Red Scare, a singer who left the popular
Weavers group he co-started because they did a TV ad for cigarettes, an environmental activist in
the Hudson Valley (after whom the replacement Tappan Zee Bridge should be named), and a
songwriter whose banjo read,"This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."
Oh, those songs as calls to action..."Turn Turn Turn" was antiwar Ecclesiastes in 1965 (and that
ringing 12-string Rickenbacker guitar opening of Roger McGuinn does take you back). In Sproul
Plaza in 1964, you might hear antiwar "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" played by Peter
Paul and Mary, and his all-purpose protest 1950 song "If I Had A Hammer." Or maybe "We Shall
Overcome," of which he had co-copyrights (and gave all royalties to charity). Think of Pete when
you hear that tune.
27Recommend
•
NYT Pick
JS
nyc 21 days ago
We're going to need future Pete Seeger's in this nation. I have no doubt they will appear.
27Recommend
•
NYT Pick
Dave
Godspeed, Pete Seeger...if a deity ever played a role in the unyielding nature of his principled,
caring, loving, and talented life. A voice immediately recognizable, a sound always welcome,
songs you sang along with. Deity or no, a blessing.
•
27Recommend
Revere
Dear Pete,
It feels like the world just stopped moving when I heard you had passed away. To honor you, I will
push on today to try and make our world a better place. We love you eternally!
•
27Recommend
Paul King
USA 21 days ago
Do this and you won't regret it:
Get online and find some songs with Pete and stop the busyness of the day and just.... listen.
Just listen to the words and the heart of a man who will remind you of something really important.
Decency, humanity, caring and soul.
•
26Recommend
Steve
Rhinebeck 21 days ago
Back in the late 1960’s, I remember Pete Seeger being invited to perform at my high school in the
New York suburbs. Controversy quickly ensued…community members concerned about Mr.
Seeger's political leanings. After meetings and arguments from both sides…the planned concert
prevailed.
The controversy only increased the excitement. When concert day arrived and the lights in the
auditorium dimmed, Pete Seeger walked onstage to thunderous applause.
And his first song: “The Star Spangled Banner.”
•
26Recommend
gradyjerome
North Carolina 21 days ago
PETE
I knew I’d cry the day Pete Seeger died.
His song is done -- and true -- he didn’t sing
so much these days. And sure, I realize
the times have changed: The Union’s not the thing
it was, back when Pete sang those Union songs.
This Land may still be yours, may still be mine,
but we’re not sure it’s going to be, for long.
Another Fool: waist-deep another time;
It’s hard, believing we shall overcome.
Big Muddy’s got us, but we still push on.
I bet ol’ Pete -- before he was struck dumb -was asking, “Where have all the flowers gone?”
No need to cry because ol’ Pete is dead:
Let’s cry because his dream has died, instead.
Jerome Norris
___________
26Recommend
•
SKV
NYC 21 days ago
I never met him, but I loved him.
26Recommend
•
Carole Huddleston
Dayton, Ohio 21 days ago
Everything that happened in his life was perfect. Thank you House Un-American Activities
Committee for your questions and Congress for your conviction. It all underscored his inherent
goodness. Dare I say it? Yes, he was the soul of this country.
26Recommend
•
Ellen
The last time I saw him, he was standing on the side of the road between Beacon & Cold Spring
with a group of maybe 10 other elderly people holding signs protesting against the war. We
beeped the horn and waved, and he gave a giant smile and big sweeping wave of his arm right
back.
•
In reply to Rebecca
•
26Recommend
Elisabeth de Boer-van der Kolk
Boston, MA 22 days ago
Just listened to "Amazing Grace" the other day. Pete sings it so, so slow and the entire audience
is with him. The harmonies vibrated though my speakers. Not a single person in the audience
was left behind, regardless of their singing abilities. He truly brought grace to this world. We will
miss you.
•
26Recommend
not that George W
Shaker Heights Ohio 21 days ago
Losing Pete Seeger is like losing a parent
25Recommend
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Erica Manfred
Woodstock, NY 21 days ago
Pete's passing is personal for me. I grew up with him. I was a red diaper baby and my parents
revered him. We went to his concerts, my dad played the the guitar and we sang along with his
songs, I learned all his children's songs when I was a child. We listened to the Weavers records
on the phonograph (remember them) and I knew all the songs by heart. I cried when I read this
obituary because it reminded me of how my parent's generation has passed, and of my long gone
childhood. I'm 71 and Pete's death marks the end of an era--my era.
25Recommend
•
Bertrand Plastique
LA 21 days ago
Every time I've thought of Pete Seeger it's occurred to me how much he represented the best of
what are promoted as American values. He found a way to make a sustainable model for his
career while also choosing to engage in the betterment of his society, seemingly at every step;
and he was a happy man.
25Recommend
•
Bob
Scarsdale 21 days ago
Sad sad day. I loved Pete Seeger for not only his music but his incredibly principled life. If we all
just devoted a fraction of the dedication, energy and commitment Pete provided what a better
world this would be.
•
25Recommend
Jack Shepard
Windsor, CO 21 days ago
Here's a verse from a Seeger favorite, "Passing Through."
I was at Franklin Roosevelt's side just a while before he died.
He said, "One world must come out of World War II. Yankee, Russian, white or tan, every
woman, every man. We're all people and we're only passing through." Passing through, passing
through. Sometimes happy, sometimes blue. Glad that I ran into you. Tell the people that you saw
me passing through.
:
•
25Recommend
archer717
Did any of you here hear Amy Goodman's I/V of Pete this morning? he was very matter of fact,
humorous, devoid of all rancor, just the loving father not only of our folk music but of our country.
And as always, always optimistic. We ask ourselves in despair "When will they ever learn, When
will they ever learn?" He lived his whole live believing that we would. Someday. So must we.
•
25Recommend
NYT Pick
glenshaw1
Lyme, NH 21 days ago
Thanks, Pete, for being a voice in my head and an inspiration for my heart for nearly fifty years.
Others met you in person, but I knew you from concerts and recordings that stretched from my
childhood to adulthood and then to my own children's lives. Whether it was on an mp3 or an old
LP, your voice rang true and we sang along with you -- clapping, laughing, and calling out the big
and little truths in your songs. And though you have died, your songs and recordings will continue
to inspire and delight us for another hundred years, and maybe longer. So, old friend, take it
easy...but take it.
•
25Recommend
Boobladoo
NY 21 days ago
Let's be honest here. The main focus of Seeger's music was speaking truth to power. He believed
in a society where people actually had a high degree of equality and social justice. He fully
opposed state supression militarism, imperialism and corporatism, the drive toward making life's
focus about the accumulation of abstract wealth and Darwinian success.
So he really wasn't so much about the America the NY Times' advertisers promote or the
president's speech tonight will promote. Compared to them, Seeger who actually espoused true
socialist-rooted ideals that go back to 19th century America, is NOT where the US is currently
heading. He's the antitisis.
•
25Recommend
bruce bernstein
the other commenters have all said it so well... i simply want to add my deep respects to Pete
Seeger and what he stood for, what he believed, and how he behaved. he had a profound
influence on our culture and politics. his walking this earth left it a better place.
•
25Recommend
LeoK
San Dimas, CA 21 days ago
What comes through strongly is how Pete Seeger never compromised his principles. It's also
striking how much official resistance to his political views he endured, yet triumphed in the end by
simple persistence. May he continue, even in his memory, to be an inspiration to all of us!
25Recommend
•
Gary
Cadillac, MI 22 days ago
Oh, how I loved the man and his music. I can say without a moments hesitation that he changed
my life. Whenever I needed an example of someone who knew and practiced a life of deep love
for our world and its inhabitants I would seek out some latest tidbit of information on what he was
up to. He never disappointed. Rest now, Dear Pete. Like never before it's now up to us.
25Recommend
•
Méz
Paris 22 days ago
I grew up with his songs of love, justice, brotherhood ... This heat in his voice, his humanism, his
wife died a few months ago, which he loved so will not stay long without it ...
Of France all my love Pete. And thanks.
https://twitter.com/MezianeHammadi
•
25Recommend
Liesbeth Kruiniger
Rotterdam, the Netherlands 22 days ago
I know it is selfish, because he lived to be this old, but i am such an admirer of him that i don´t
want to let him go. Rest in peace, old wise man and know you did your part to change the world,
you certainly did mine!
•
25Recommend
Todd Fox
Earth 21 days ago
Great idea to name the bridge after him. Pete WAS a bridge.
•
24Recommend
NYT Pick
Todd Fox
Earth 21 days ago
To sing along with Pete was to have your heart filled with love and a clear vision of a better way
of life — where people work hard together for the common good and genuinely love one another.
I kind of figured when Toshi died that Pete would soon follow. I imagine she told him today that he
needen't have hurried when there was still so much to be done. But he'd sung his song and
played his part and it was time to go home. If indeed there is a heaven I'm sure that Pete Seeger
rose up today, singing.
•
24Recommend
Steve
NYC 21 days ago
My father was a union organizer, my parents were active in Americans for Democratic Action; we
marched on picket lines, rallied for civil rights and fought for social justice. Pete Seeger was the
soundtrack to my childhood, author of pop hits in my teens, and never far from my side through
adulthood. He lives on through us all.
•
24Recommend
Parentstudentforlife
Brooklyn 21 days ago
How is it that Pete Seeger never won the Noble Peace Prize?
•
24Recommend
mrama
yonkers ny 22 days ago
I first saw Pete Seeger perform when I was 17 years old and a high school student in Yorktown
Heights many years ago. His concert was almost cancelled by local John Bircher's, but the
wisdom of our school board members prevailed, and he was permitted to sing. For his first
number he came on stage with an ax and chopped wood while singing "If I Had a Hammer."
While pieces of wood chips flew all over the stage and into the startled audience, he quipped,
"Hope I don't get sued if one of those hits somebody." His good humor instantly broke all the
tension of the night bought on by those small-minded people and made me a fan of his courage
for all of my life.
•
24Recommend
Caroline
Rochester 22 days ago
Pete kept up his passionate commitment to justice and the environment until the end, substituting
anti-fracking lyrics for the words of Woody Guthrie’s, "This Land is Your Land.” Instead of the
phrase, “This Land was made for you and me,” Pete sang, “New York was meant to be frackfree.”
•
24Recommend
David Underwood
is a trusted commenter Citrus Heights 22 days ago
Where have all the singers gone, now that we need them just as we did during Pete's prime?
24Recommend
•
Mark Kessinger
Somehow "Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music" seems like such a woefully inadequate
description of the man and of his contribution to the world. R.I.P.. Pete Seeger, humanitarian!
24Recommend
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kate
dublin 22 days ago
Seeger brought joy to generations, while teaching them to think. Steadfast above all in his love of
music and a good cause, he inspired children in particular. There is no better way to identify the
American red diaper babies of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and probably even 90s and beyond than their
familiarity with his repertoire. I first started listening in the summer of love (at the age of seven!) to
an album I'd checked out of the public library that included Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and My
Name is Lisa Kalvelage. The next year, following King's assassination, my father played us an old
78 of We Shall Overcome. But what shines through it all was Seeger's modesty as well as his
sense of fun; here was someone more excited that everyone learn and enjoy the songs than that
we hear his own voice sing them so well, much less that he grow rich from selling records and
tickets. And his impact will endure; one wonders if there was a single Obama campaign
volunteer, indeed a single kid who grew up in America, who didn't know at least one of his songs,
which don't go in and out of fashion, but tie generations together, often in the hope of building a
better world.
24Recommend
•
Jim Arnold
Dallas 22 days ago
He was a great American. Period.
•
In reply to dutchiris
•
24Recommend
Judy
Vermont 21 days ago
I feel a connection between the loss of Pete Seeger and the loss of Nelson Mandela so close
together. The world is a poorer, bleaker place for the passing of these two giants among men.
•
23Recommend
Sarah D.
is a trusted commenter Monague, MA 21 days ago
That's fine, Doron, but just as a correction, it wasn't only the "far left" that admired him. I know
many plain-vanilla Democrats and even some Republicans who did, too. Probably not TeaPartiers.
•
In reply to Doron
•
23Recommend
Hal
NYC 21 days ago
So grateful he got to 94. I hoped he would never die.
23Recommend
•
NYT Pick
Constance Porteous
Evanston, IL. 21 days ago
Pete Seeger was part of my childhood. At age six, he came and sang at a camp in Phoenicia ,
N.Y. I sat and listened, sang along and watched with awe as he engaged us with his song. His
Adam's apple went up and down. It was a wonderful experience. Because of that time and later
times when I heard him sing, I have loved folk music as well as championed along with him the
causes of peace and protecting the environment. I loved listening to him when he played in the
Village, in N.Y. and at my school, City and Country. So he is like a member of my family and he
will be missed.
23Recommend
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LS
Maine 22 days ago
Good night, Pete. Thank you for everything.
•
23Recommend
a o sultan
new york city 22 days ago
My heart is broken and elated at the same moment. Truly a life well lived. Let us celebrate a great
spirit, a tremendous human being. Pete, your music did shine a light on hope and possibility in
dark times. You shifted the world in all good ways. Now play that banjo wherever you land.
•
23Recommend
Maura T. Fan
Manhattanville, NY 22 days ago
"So long, it's been good to know ya"
The first time I attended the Clearwater Music Festival (1993), I saw Pete Seeger standing on the
side of one stage, waiting to introduce the next act. She was a Buffalo songstress I had never
heard of. She only had 4 CD's out. She was a Righteous Babe who had never played Clearwater
before, and he introduced Ani DiFranco himself. By the end of the day I owned two Ani DiFranco
CDs.
My thanks to my parents for taking me to see him in concert and for explaining to me why it was
so important that he did not answer questions from the House Unamerican Activities Committee.
He knew more about being American than all of them put together.
Here's to Cisco, and to Woody, and to LeadBelly too: and to all the good people that traveled with
you, Mr. Seeger.
23Recommend
•
Paul Gorman
Amherst, Ma 22 days ago
He was the last one living about whom so many
will feel that the world with him gone will somehow
never be the same. As we were never the same after
hearing him the first time. Everytime, everywhere, the first
time, again and again and again. So I say we go all the way: :
PETE SEEGER SAVED THE NATION!
23Recommend
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John
Napa, Ca 22 days ago
This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.
Thank you Pete Seeger.
23Recommend
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Amit
And then when he started singing "We Shall Overcome" the house broke down. To have THE
Pete Seeger sing with us is a memory I will never forget. Then when I came to US to study,
always wanted to go to one of his concerts but it never worked out. And then like another miracle
he came to San Francisco again with Tao. Almost 15 years had passed since I last saw him. But
his voice still remained strong, his energy had not diminished one bit, his banjo was still
electrifying. Will there ever be anyone like him anymore? He gave hope to millions of peopleyoung and old. His songs are still sung today even though many may not know his name. He was
just not an American musician but an International musician. He was a citizen of the world. Thank
You Mr. Pete Seeger. Thank You. Thank You.
23Recommend
•
Janis
Summit, nj 21 days ago
Every protest, organizing effort, rally for social justice and a better standard of living that I
attended on the East Coast of the U.S. over my lifetime, either included Mr. Seeger's physical
presence, or his songs, spirit and influence. It is difficult to think of another person in the cultural
arts during the 20th century, whose knowledge and commitment was so perfectly communicated
in word and song, teaching us how to reclaim both U.S working class heritage and history. Pete's
life was an inspiration. His memory will be honored by large numbers of people around the world,
who will testify to the fact that his art and activism touched and transformed their lives for the
better.
•
22Recommend
Joel Schwartz
In 1971, Bobby Seale and Erica Huggins of the Black Panther Party were on trial in New Haven,
Ct. After a long, tense trial, the jury retired to deliberate. After a day without a verdict, it became
clear that it would be awhile in coming. Those of us working with the Panther Defense Committee
organized a vigil on the New Haven green, which was right in front of the court house. Someone
had Pete's number in Beacon and called him. He was in New Haven in about two hours. To this
day, I have a great photograph of me holding a microphone for him singing to the crowd of a few
thousand people. The jury was out for four days and eventually deadlocked at 11-1 for acquittal.
All charges were then dropped and Bobby and Erica walked free. It was a great victory. But my
most cherished memory of that time was holding the mic for Pete. What a good person.
•
22Recommend
NYT Pick
Victor
Idaho 21 days ago
According to the Jewish tradition, our world is sustained in each generation by the presence of 36
good people, the "Lamed Vavnicks". Well, we just lost one. That might be scary if you think about
it. Pete Seeger's spirit was so strong, it could shake mountains, and did! I am so saddened as are
many and hope there is someone out there to fill his shoes in the next generation. However, at
this moment in time that seems impossible.
•
22Recommend
HapinOregon
Brookings, OR 21 days ago
They were giants, then.
Ave.
Fare well.
And merci beau for all the wonderful tunes.
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
(Psalms 94:8 KJV)
•
22Recommend
Swatter
Washington DC 21 days ago
Criticism of Mr. Seeger for not being sufficiently "loyal", "patriotic" or a soviet flunkie are absurd
when put in context.
His "mistakes" regarding the Soviet line were in his early 20s, when no one gets it "right" except
by luck, but his myopia at the time was from his acute awareness of US government and
corporate crimes against Americans and others. Unlike his detractors, however, who retain their
myopia on the other side and still don't recognize such American misdeeds in the past or today,
Mr. Seeger broke with the CPUS and the Soviets in the late 1940s, has said he was wrong to
support it. Ultimately, his support was for the little guy and the downtrodden, which the CPUS
supported when few others did.
As for being loyal or patriotic, Mr. Seeger is more of those towards the principles that supposedly
are the foundation of the United States than just about any of his detractors, principles that they
gladly see violated in contradiction of their slogans of freedom and liberty. The same oppressive
fervor that was evident in the 1940s-1960s is alive and well, especially since 9/11 and even more
since 2008.
•
22Recommend
RagMag
New Hampshire 21 days ago
The Pete Seeger Bridge. Absolutely.
•
In reply to DWBH
•
22Recommend
Buckeye
Ohio 22 days ago
America, the real one, will forever embrace this beautiful and progressive voice in the wilderness
as one of our heroes. Charged with "contempt of Congress" in the 1950s, he was always ahead
of this times. Now most of America joins him in contempt for a bunch of dysfunctional millionaire
politicians bought by the 1% who are running our great country (into the ground). We shall
overcome.
•
22Recommend
JTFloore
Texas 22 days ago
he was above all else a man who mattered. one of his last public performances -- maybe the last
-- was last september when he sang several songs at Farm Aid and was joined on stage by many
of the other admiring performers: willie nelson, neil young, john mellencamp et al.
•
22Recommend
Kashel
West Coast 22 days ago
A voice of truth to power, an artist for generations. There will never be his like again.
Thank you so much, Mr. Seeger. Beyond that, I have no words.
•
22Recommend
John Plotz
Hayward, California 22 days ago
I met Pete a few times, spending one memorable day and evening with him in Beacon. I was one
of thousands of ordinary people who had some small contact with him. In private life he was -- as
far as I could see -- modest, gentle and friendly. A less pretentious man would be hard to find. He
was grounded. He knew who he was and who the people around him were and who were the
ones we had to resist. Brave, gentle, a bit humorous, and a lot talented -- a wonderful mixture.
We were lucky to have him with us.
•
22Recommend
Rev. E.M. Camarena, Ph.D.
Hells Kitchen, NYC 22 days ago
A good life, well lived. He was a big man in many ways.
http://emcphd.wordpress.com
•
22Recommend
David Taylor
Nothern CA 21 days ago
I've seen Seeger's detractors talk about his communist associations, and use that to dismiss
everything else he has done.
I recall a local minister dying in my community and the outpouring of support was immense from
all religions and even atheists. The man was magnanimous, had a true generosity of spirit, and
unflagging optimism.
This is what conservatism has to deal with: their heroes are one dimensional bores who made
some money. They leave nothing. Seeger - and the minister to whom I refer - leaving what he did
rankles them. Are you going to see comments like those here for Pat Robertson? George Bush?
William Kristol? No, these are selfish men who have a stage but no respect.
21Recommend
•
R. H. Clark
When I was a student at Middlebury College in 1960 Pete Seeger had to give his performance
off-campus because he was not allowed to perform on campus by the persons who controlled
Middlebury. Now Middlebury is trying to lead the way in environmental protection, but still hasn't
caught up to Pete Seeger.
Seeger gets the last word and last laugh.
21Recommend
•
NYT Pick
Steve Davidowitz
Las Vegas 21 days ago
Must thank Jon Pareles for this excellent perspective on the life of Pete Seeger, a truly great and
humble man who gave us so many gifts through his music and friendships.
Pete enjoyed who he was, as so many enjoyed knowing him --a great personal achievement -and we certainly are a better people for having seen and heard him speak up and sing out for
what he believed in throughout his natural born life.
I knew him only briefly, but remember vividly the passion he brought to small coffee houses, to
high school gymnasiums, to the Music Barn in Massachussetts, to the Minneapolis State
Fairgrounds (with Arlo Guthrie), to his library of recordings and to his too few but profound
television appearances.
While he mortally leaves us, Pete Seeger will remain truly immortal as long as humans listen and
sing his songs that speak to our hopes, our dreams and our desires to savor and improve life on
this planet.
Steve Davidowitz
davidwtz@aol.com
21Recommend
•
Mark
Cleveland Hts. 21 days ago
So, who will guard the gates now that Pete is gone? Us, I guess.
•
21Recommend
Sarah D.
is a trusted commenter Monague, MA 21 days ago
Good night, Pete, it's been good to know yuh! Thank you for everything.
21Recommend
•
Robert
Dallas 21 days ago
Pete Seeger helped cultivate and exercise whatever sense of social justice I have carried
throughout my life, and also named and taught me "hammer-ons" and "pull-offs". And by a wide
margin, the greatest sing-along leader ever. What a life. We were blessed.
21Recommend
•
Ben
Pittsburgh 22 days ago
I was so fortunate to have been alive for the Pete Seeger time on Earth. I will miss his
indefatigable activity in promoting so many values I too hold dear - peace among men, a fair and
equitable economic playing field, his stand against despotism, his love of country and its ideals.
He has passed but his voice lives on. Should many of us been such a man.
•
21Recommend
Alison
Menlo Park, California 22 days ago
I spotted Pete Seeger standing by the washing machines at a Best Buy in the Poughkeepsie
Galleria in the Hudson Valley two years ago. He was on crutches and seemed embarrassed
about it. He explained apologetically, to me, a stranger, that he had slipped a disc earlier in the
week. I took some photos of him with an eight year old boy who had also recognized him
because Seeger used to come play at his school.
I've dealt with some famous icons of rock in my time, and they could have used some lessons in
humility and manners from the gracious Mr. Seeger.
Loved your music, Pete, and sorry to see you go.
•
21Recommend
Aravinda
Bel Air, MD 22 days ago
Four years to the day after Howard Zinn and JD Salinger, we bid adieu to another conscience
keeper.
His music will live forever.
•
21Recommend
Beth Lyons-Cary
Canandaigua 22 days ago
A beautiful and fitting tribute!
•
In reply to dutchiris
•
21Recommend
Eugene Gorrin
Union, NJ 21 days ago
America has lost a great patriot, someone who loved his country and wanted to better it, who saw
war and wanted peace, who saw lies and wanted truth, who saw wrongs and wanted justice, who
saw waters and rivers polluted and sought to cleanse them.
Pete Seeger had a heart, a mind, a voice and a conscience, and the combination was a powerful
force for good. He will be sorely missed by his family and by America. But his music will live on.
•
20Recommend
NYT Pick
Robert McEwan
A life well lived. An inspiration. A beautiful, talented man. His not so often heard song "Oh had I a
Golden Thread," tells of his desire to "weave a magic strand of rainbow design." He did. Beautiful
man.
Oh, had I a golden thread
And a needle so fine
I would weave a magic strand
Of rainbow design, of rainbow design
In it I'd weave the bravery
Of women giving birth
And in it I would weave the innocence
Of children of all the earth, children of all the earth
Show my brothers and sisters my rainbow design
I would bind up this sorry world
With hand and my heart and mind
Hand and heart and mind
Oh, had I a golden thread
And a needle so fine
I I would weave a magic strand
Of rainbow design, of rainbow design
20Recommend
•
ExMeaSententia
Laguna Beach, CA 21 days ago
" ... But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died ... "
20Recommend
•
Be The Change...
A true American...
We have all benefitted from the life he lived... thank you Pete Seeger. May you now rest in peace.
20Recommend
•
RagMag
Significant that so many comments here describe meeting the man personally. That should tell
you something about his humility and character.
20Recommend
•
PAC
Malvern, PA 21 days ago
This remembrance needs to be read by the youth of America and the world as a testament to the
power of one simple man with a quiet voice speaking in the universal language of music, a
dedication to things of the heart rather than the pocketbook and a tenacity to do the right thing
even when many surrounding voices tried to make his life a misery by questioning his motives.
His unshakable commitment to better world immediately calls to mind a passage from Winter's
Tale by Mark Helprin,
“To be mad is to feel with excruciating intensity the sadness and joy of a time which has not
arrived or has already been. And to protect their delicate vision of that other time, madmen will
justify their condition with touching loyalty, and surround it with a thousand distractive schemes.
These schemes, in turn, drive them deeper and deeper into the darkness and light (which is their
mortification and their reward), and confront them with a choice. They may either slacken and fall
back, accepting the relief of a rational view and the approval of others, or they may push on, and,
by falling, arise. When and if by their unforgivable stubbornness they finally burst through to
worlds upon worlds of motionless light, they are no longer called afflicted or insane. They are
called saints.”
20Recommend
•
kmcneil
NJ 21 days ago
Truly, a shining example of the power of one.
20Recommend
•
AM
I dreamed I saw Pete Seeger last night, alive as you or me.
Where working men defend their rights, it's there you'll find Pete Seeger.
•
20Recommend
Lance Diskan
Flagstaff, Arizona 22 days ago
No words - even song - can capture the deep, pervasive impact of Pete Seeger's life on America
and our planet. A person of authentic morality, he growled back at stupidity, venality, greed,
classism, racism, sexism and petty-mindedness for decade after decade after decade. A
marvelous music-maker who brought integrity to every lyric, and both knowing-sorrow and
undiluted-joy to endless human audiences. He has left our nation with a legacy of decency, roots,
modesty, leadership-by-example and unsurpassed inspiration. All of us have been fortunate to
have shared our brief time on Earth with Pete. Hail & fare-the-well to a man who for years has
been The Greatest Living American.
•
20Recommend
Times Rita
As a 14-year-old nascent hippie taking the D train to Washington Square Park with my guitar as
companion, Pete was my hero. The hero worship was honed by summers at Surprise Lake
Camp, where we used to hike to Beacon and sing the songs he wrote. He was a legend to us
even in the early '60s.
My (second) husband just said "I wish I'd known you then." I wish I'd know me then, too. Rest in
peace, Pete, and thank you for all the years of joy.
•
20Recommend
Steven Bognar
Yellow Springs, Ohio 21 days ago
Pete was a gentle yet fierce man. Yes, a great patriot. I feel so lucky to have known him and
spent time with him and Toshi at their cabin above the Hudson as we made the film Seeing Red,
Stories of American Communists. We saw how he really lived his beliefs. Pete told many stories
and sang, about organizing, about HUAC, about Woody, about the bosses, about his outlook on
the life of a radical in America. Let's not forget a beautiful song he wrote, Quite Early Morning. It
captures his philosophy of life and foretells his own demise, really.
You know it's darkest
Before the dawn
This thought keeps me
moving on
If we could heed these early warnings
The time is now quite early morning
Some say that humankind won't long endure
But what makes them feel
So dog-one sure?
I know that you who hear my singing
Can make those freedom bells go ringing.
And so we keep on while we live
Until we have no more to give
And when these fingers can strum no longer
And the old banjo to young ones stronger
Don't you know it's darkest
Before the dawn
This thought keeps me
moving on
(2x)
Through all this world of joy and sorrow
We still can have
singing tomorrow
Julia Reichert
19Recommend
•
stevenz
auckland 21 days ago
A few years ago I was fortunate to be part of a small group of about 40 people to hear Pete
Seeger in an intimate setting. It was like being in a cathedral - I was in a constant state of
reverence. I think about it often, and now I truly know how lucky I was.
A Giant has fallen. He will live with America as long as it survives.
19Recommend
•
VJR
North America 21 days ago
These words are have kept me going for over 33 years now since Reagan through the rise of the
Neocons and Tea Partiers: "Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe We shall overcome, some day."
19Recommend
•
Craig
Springfield, MO 21 days ago
What did he need to repent for? Being a Marxist is neither a crime nor a sin and the causes Pete
Seeger championed were often only championed by Marxists because only they would speak out
against the unfair treatment of workers in a capitalist state. This great man did not need to repent
for his political beliefs especially in this time when capitalists have become an aristocracy.
•
In reply to Campesino
•
19Recommend
Warner King, Jr.
Chestnut Ridge, NY 21 days ago
An American treasure. No, a World treasure. Your legacy will live on. Thanks Pete.
19Recommend
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postguy365
Arizona 21 days ago
For years my wife and I have referred to Pete as the greatest living American. He still is. Pete
Seeger will never die.
19Recommend
•
NYT Pick
Michael Keats
"I wake up each morning
and dust off my wits...
open the paper,
read the obits...
if I am not there,
I know i'm not dead,
so I eat a good breakfast
and go back to bed!"
I've known that song since I was five years old. Now I am 44.
Sleep well, dear Pete. We will miss you.
19Recommend
•
Ernie
Queens 21 days ago
To the shame of this country, Pete Seeger never received the Medal of Freedom Award. If any
person in the arts deserved it, it was he. Perhaps someday a future president will see fit to
bestow it to Mr. Seeger posthumously.
Obviously none of the presidents prior to and including Obama had the political guts to bestow
that honor. Clearly there would have been a firestorm from the right. If Obama saw fit to honor
Bob Dylan, then surely, Pete Seeger, to whom Dylan owes a lot, also deserved it.
The reason obviously was because he was a fervent believer in social activism, and even called
himself a "communist" (with a small "c"), though he disparaged Russian communism.
He said: "I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more what Russia made of it
than Christianity is what the churches make of it. But if by some freak of history communism had
caught up with this country, I would have been one of the first people thrown in jail."
Even so he did serve in time of war. "Seeger served in the US Army in the Pacific. He was trained
as an airplane mechanic, but was reassigned to entertain the American troops with music. Later,
when people asked him what he did in the war, he always answered "I strummed my banjo."
(wikipedia)
He did however receive the Medal of the Arts in 1994 from the Endowment of the Arts, but that
does not bear the imprimatur of the president.
What a shame.
•
19Recommend
NYT Pick
BillyBopNYC
UWS 21 days ago
My wife is an Art Director in Children's Literature and did a book with Pete Seeger a number of
years ago. She and her Editor had a lunch meeting with Pete and his agent on a posh midtown
restaurant. Pete arrived carrying a large Hefty trash bag. When the Editor started discussing the
story line for the book, Pete reached onto the bag and pulled out a notebook with his drafts of the
text. His "briefcase" was a Hefty Heavy Duty size Large.
She has worked with many other celebrities doing a kids book, and says he was the nicest and
always treated her staff with courtesy and respect. A true gentleman.
•
19Recommend
Michael Liss
He lived a good life, managed to accomplish a great deal, and improved the lives of others, both
through his music and his volunteer work. You can't ask for more.
•
19Recommend
NYT Pick
nfnmg
NYC 21 days ago
He was one of those people who just knowing he was somewhere out there, chopping wood up in
Beacon, made me a little bit happier down here in NYC. Raised on his music from birth, to playing
it myself on guitar, to watching him perform for Clearwater, my world feels changed without Pete.
Working doc
Delray Beach, FL 21 days ago
At my first concert (a no- nukes one in 1981 or so), I was disappointed to hear Pete Seeger
(popular with my parents), not Bob Seger the rock star popular with us kids at the time.
Now has time turned the tables on what I value. I'll remember Pete's great smile... and sing along
in this great land...
19Recommend
•
Sioux Warfield
Wilmette IL 22 days ago
In all of my 61%2B years on earth, have never known a time without Pete Seeger. Guess it starts
now... Sincerest condolences to his family -- both biological and worldwide, through love.
19Recommend
•
Bob
I can't be the only one that wondered if he would live forever.
•
19Recommend
Mara Farrell
Fishkill 21 days ago
I, as so many today, cannot believe the great Pete Seeger is gone from this earth. His bright star
has flown. What lucky joy he was among us. But such a collective sorrow tonight.
•
18Recommend
NYT Pick
brendan
Saw Pete Seeger play just once. On 2nd Ave before about 250 000 people stretching from 42nd
up to the upper eastside. It was February 2002 and we were engaging in the largest anti-war
protest the world has ever seen.
He played a few songs, but I remember a sort of odd sadness crept over me as he played
'Somewhere over the rainbow'. My friends remarked what an odd choice it was. Still, we sang
along.
Thinking back, perhaps there was a kind wistful, sad, almost melancholic element to that
performance. As though even Pete Seeger's will could be tempered by the War machine
springing to life once again...
18Recommend
•
Plato
NY 21 days ago
It's interesting to think back to the Grammys this last weekend and then to the life and causes of
this wonderful man and musician. We need more music and musicians that help champion the
important humanitarian causes of today, and we need to support them so they can earn a decent
living doing so.
18Recommend
•
Gene 99
Lido Beach, NY 21 days ago
How to live a life that's bigger than yourself, 101.
A life that inspired; a life well lived.
Rest in glorious peace, Pete.
18Recommend
•
Bob Hanle
Madison, WI 21 days ago
Goodnight, Pete. We'll see you in our dreams.
18Recommend
•
CT
austria 21 days ago
A very rare human being. A very rare man. One who really gave everything to the people of the
world with his courage, integrity, kindness, humble gestures of humanity and through it his soul
gave song to shine through everlasting. He is a rare example of what "human" can be and should
be when one is giving and not thinking of taking anything in return for the giving.
I'm sad that such a unique soul has left us. Sad because the America I was born to and raised to
love and still do love despite itself does not look at all like this man and the values he lived by
anymore to me. So I feel bereft that I cannot find the key he speaks of. I don't know of any
optimistic stories I could tell about my homeland or any other land either. O Captain, My Captain!
I wish you grace and peace now on your long voyage home! Thank you for your shining light!
18Recommend
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rtc
montreal 21 days ago
When I was in high school in New York state (not far from Beacon where Pete lived) Pete was
hired to do a concert in our school auditorium. The concert was cancelled by the school board
because Seeger was a "red". Pete's response was that he was about as red as the average
American Indian; the irony of which was probably lost on the school board.
Many years later I met Pete Seeger when performing at the Vancouver Folk Festival. I was on the
bus that took performers from UBC where we were staying to the festival site at Kitsilano beach.
Pete got on the bus and sat down beside me. I felt a bit intimidated but felt I had to say something
if only to be civil. I told him about the cancelled concert when I was a kid. Pete talked about his
grandchildren.
He was a truly honourable man, a man who always tried to do the right thing and succeeded in
doing so more often than most of us. I live in Canada now but Pete represents the part of
America that I still love. He represents what America can be at its best.
18Recommend
•
Etta
East Baltic 22 days ago
Well, well done Pete Seeger, faithful servant of people and places everywhere. May the world
sing his songs and right wrongs forever. May he and his beloved Toshi now dance together again
by the light of a Hudson Valley moon!
•
18Recommend
raveneyes
beacon, ny 22 days ago
An honest man with integrity. RIP neighbor.
•
18Recommend
RagMag
Pete Seeger cared about poor people. Do you?
•
In reply to Amy
•
18Recommend
Michael
An American life.
•
18Recommend
mercè
Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain) 22 days ago
Thank you for all, Pete Seeger.
I hope your music, your signs, your smile, your behaviour... make better the people.
Today, should sound your music everywhere.
Rest in Peace.
•
18Recommend
Charlie Newman
Chicago 22 days ago
My parents and I had a brutally strained relationship in the mid/late-60s.
One of the few things all three of us had in common was the joy of listening to Pete Seeger.
The man had a great healing power in his music.
No one like him today.
R.I.P, Pete...you earned it.
•
18Recommend
homeden
Olympia, WA 22 days ago
Grew up with Pete's music (the Weavers and Paul Robeson, too) as part of my musical education
and conscience. "So Long, it's been good to know ya" helped propel me and friends into taking
big adventures down some interesting and ever lasting roads. And I hope that the music he was
part of will continue to reverberate for future generations to come. From my own perspective, he
was cultural hero who helped provide perspective of our collective lives with humor, sincerity and
inclusiveness of common good, common sense and not so common support for people's rights
round the world. A champion of humanity.
•
18Recommend
Bell Clement
Washington, D.C. 20 days ago
The mystery is, why would anybody want to grow up and be a Wall Street banker ? Why would
not everybody want to grow up and be Pete Seeger ?
•
17Recommend
NYT Pick
Scott Hammer
Richmond, VA 21 days ago
In the summer of 1969, Pete came to Northport, NY, my hometown, on the Clearwater, and
played a free concert in the Village park. I was fourteen at the time and was way too cool for folk
music, but my parents made me go to the concert. I was determined to have a bad time, and
succeeded, until Pete sang "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" - after that, I was hooked on folk
music and have been for the last 45 years.
Coda - in 1999, I met Pete again at vocal week at the Augusta Heritage Center. He was talking
about engaging the audience, and mentioned that he frequently used "The Devil and the Farmer's
Wife" to achieve exactly the effect it had on me.
I'll be singing "Somos El Barco" as I go to sleep tonight. Goodbye Pete; we love and miss you.
•
17Recommend
Doug Broome
Vancouver 21 days ago
My mother ran an elite girls' summer camp in the Okanagan which I attended with three other
boys, and I brought my folk records. "If I Had A Hammer" used to bring tears to my eyes. (The
ultimate alienation, boys at a girls' camp, somehow got linked in my mind to the great civil rights
movement underway in the U.S. My father, a business executive and Tory politician, had a large
orchard and I expressed social solidarity by hanging out with the farm workers who I found wiser
people than the orchard owners.)
My first date, in 1964, was with a camp girl to a Pete Seeger concert at the Queen Elizabeth
Theatre. Some privileges of upper class life were irresistible, like free tickets to all events at the
QE Theatre and Playhouse because my dad was on the board.)
I did cross the line that year by borrowing the Mercedes to deliver literature for the socialist
candidate while my dad was running for the Tories.
You took class struggle where you could, even if it was family struggle. (Canadian Tories of the
day were well to the left of Obama now.)
To me, Seeger and Robeson were gods of a movement to remember the outcast, and bring them
to the forefront.
It was all so idealistic, and so profoundly just, that I renounced wealth and dedicated myself to
helping the poor. Sadly, in the intervening decades, the poor have become ever more
marginalized.
But the songs of Peter and Woody and Paul keep hope alive, ever calling out for justice for all.
Pete Seeger, like Joe Hill, will never die.
•
17Recommend
Adam Orden
Barcelona, Spain 21 days ago
A tremendous loss for myself, this country and the world. Comparisons with other more recent
musicians (Sting/Springsteen) don't do him justice. They are but a pale shadow in his greatness.
He was one of a kind; deeply passionate about his personal beliefs and to the personal freedoms
which this country's founding fathers memorialized in the constitution. There are few people
among us who could be as inspirational.
•
17Recommend
Steve B
Phila PA 21 days ago
My Quaker high school hosted Pete Seeger twice for packed-house concerts in the school
auditorium in the late '50s while I suppose he was still on the blacklist. That led to a lifelong
interest in folk music for me and I am sure for some of my schoolmates. I still have some of those
Weavers and other groups' LPs on Folkways. What a great man!
17Recommend
•
1515732
Wales,wi 21 days ago
Good man. The world will be a poorer place without someone like him.,
17Recommend
•
RF
Stone Ridge, N.Y. 21 days ago
Where would the Hudson be without Pete Seeger? Where would the farmer's movement be?
Where would human rights be? Where would we be?
17Recommend
•
NYT Pick
JB
New England 21 days ago
These comments are so moving - I hope historians of music, World and American History,
political science and community organizing will preserve this magnificent testimony so Pete's life
is remembered alongside his music. Remember: Sing Out!
•
17Recommend
David Rosen
There was something very warm and wonderful about Pete Seeger. He came every summer to
the camp I went to, leading all of us in song. I can still hear his voice and banjo. I loved seeing the
bumper stickers "Nobel Peace Prize for Pete Seeger". No one could be more deserving. A life
well lived!
•
17Recommend
Lee Wordsman
Bedford, NY 21 days ago
Sometime in the early 70's my parents signed me up for the City of Yonkers Waterfront Daycamp.
A bunch of inner city kids spent the summer canoeing and kayaking along the Yonkers
Waterfront. One afternoon we got to go for a sail on the Clearwater Sloop. My memory tells me
that Pete Seeger was on board that day but I could be wrong. Regardless, without Pete's efforts, I
doubt the City of Yonkers would have ever hosted a waterfront day camp, I wouldn't have been
exposed to the Yonkers Canoe Club, and I wouldn't have pursued a career in environmental
science. His obituary is required reading for anyone that believes in freedom, equal rights, music,
environmental stewardship and human character. My exposure to his music and support for the
Hudson River created a piece of who I am today. Rest In Peace, Pete.
17Recommend
•
Just Curious
Oregon 21 days ago
I wish I could tap in to a single drop of Pete Seeger's wellspring of steadfast optimism, courage,
humility, and incorruptibility. Truly one of the great ones of the earth, to honor by emulating.
17Recommend
•
Patty
Albuquerque 21 days ago
In the summer of '65, Ceta Canyon, Texas, a discredited Methodist pastor named Wendell
Stevens led a discussion group of West Texas middle class teens. He played Pete Seeger's
"Little Boxes" and "Who Killed Mary Jean?" (about the sexism that really killed Marilyn Monroe).
The scales fell off our eyes. De facto segregated Amarillo and Lubbock were suddenly not so
benign. There was work to do. I wish young people had Pete Seegers and Wendell Stevens in
their own milieus today, January 28, 2014 - to peel the scales off their eyes; to show them the
"Good Life" is not affluence, longevity, security, drug-induced-avoidance-of-pain-or-pursuit of
pleasure. It is working for Life. It is white water rafting, messing up, falling down, cleaning yourself
off, and continuing for Life. So called failures and humiliations are as much badges of honor,
when incurred for the fight for Life, as war wounds. Indeed, they are war wounds, and to be
respected by the entertained and passive masses. As C.S. Lewis said, however, "Good and evil
are both retroactive. When, viewed from the future, if all one's bruises resulted in fruitful work,
then even the bruises are good." (paraphrased). Rest in Peace Pete Seeger! I will go play my
guitar now..."Paul and Silas bound in jail; Got no money for to throw the bail; Keep your eyes on
the prize; Hold on, Hold on."
17Recommend
•
NYT Pick
Lynne Gawlas
Pittsburgh, PA 21 days ago
My friend and I met Pete Seeger on the riverbank of the Monongahela in Pittsburgh one evening
in the 70's. We had heard he would be there. No other people came. I felt bad that we were the
only ones there. He was very congenial. He had wooden flute-like instrument that he had carved
himself that he showed us and played for us. He spent time with us and it was a one of those
charmed moments. I feel fortunate to have talked to him.
17Recommend
•
abo
is a trusted commenter Paris 22 days ago
Turn, turn, turn To everything there's a season, A time to be born, And a time to die. Thank you,
Pete.
•
17Recommend
DeathbyInches
Arkansas 22 days ago
What a fantastic 94 years! We raised our children in the belief that Pete Seeger was a true
American hero and I know they'll continue his tradition of fighting for the working man. The pride
and respect my family has for Mr. Seeger will live on because his politics were as beautiful as the
music he made.
•
17Recommend
Michael Sullivan
Columbia, SC 22 days ago
Pete Seeger's banjo said it all: "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender".
•
17Recommend
Seriously?
US 22 days ago
Why? This is even worse than my chronic insomnia. Will treasure the memories of Barack
Obama's inaugural concert of this truly stellar man.
If all of us do even a small fraction of what he did, the world would be so much more just,
peaceful and sustainable.
•
17Recommend
Nancy
Vancouver, Canada 21 days ago
I will miss him. Knowing he was with us, knowing that he was uncompromising in his integrity.
A wonderful man, and a wonderful American.
•
16Recommend
Chet Tchozewski
Boulder, CO 21 days ago
Like many of you, I'm reminded of what Pete once told me he wanted as his grave stone: "He Did
His Darnedest."
•
16Recommend
BMitchell
Denver, NY 21 days ago
I once saw Pete Seeger sitting (in the back of the bus in NYC), strumming on his guitar. A few of
us on the bus knew who he was and beamed. What a treat.
•
16Recommend
Ruth Crane
Northfield MN 21 days ago
In what I have experienced as America's dark times, I have always been uplifted and encouraged
by Pete's optimistic realism. He will be greatly missed by so many people across the religious and
political spectrum.
16Recommend
•
Grimli
Wetsern Slope, CO, USA 21 days ago
A great man. Thank you for helping to raise my kids. Love of the Earth. Power in Self.
Overcoming Adversity. My kids went to sleep many times with Abiyoyo. You are one of my
heroes. 94 ain't bad!
16Recommend
•
doy1
NYC 21 days ago
We need Pete Seeger - his songs of truth and inspiration, his clear vision, & his indomitable spirit
- more than ever.
The man is gone - but his music, his ideals, and his spirit live on in all of us who believe in his
vision of this country and this world - and who continue working and speaking out - and singing
out! - to make it so.
We need his courage, too, in the face of those who would still our voices and crush our rights and
our hopes. Let's fortify our courage with his music - and the example of his life.
16Recommend
•
edian
wakefield 21 days ago
Thank you NYtimes for this beautiful obituary, it brought tears to my eyes.
•
16Recommend
Full Name
Location,US 21 days ago
A truly great , yet humble man who taught me that anyone and everyone can make the world a
better place through singing.
•
16Recommend
Julieannerickson
What a huge loss for us all! I was fortunate enough to meet him in 2007 at the Little Red
Lighthouse Festival under the George Washington Bridge, when I was Executive Director of New
York Restoration Project. What struck me was his warmth and humility. Here was this extremely
well-known person who had zero entourage except for someone who very discreetly assisted him
to navigate, and who dispensed hugs to those of us who greeted him. He was friendly, told jokes,
and then gave a wonderful performance that engaged, entertained and enlightened an audience
of all ages. Our world is poorer without him. Thank goodness for his legacy of recordings, writings
and community activism.
16Recommend
•
M
M 21 days ago
Thanks Pete, from Rhode Island, home of Newport! If a fraction of us and our polititions could
truely live up to our own principles and beliefs about our fellow man and planet the way he did,
"walk the walk", this would surely be a better place for all. Nothing drastic, just treat the next one
in line with a little digninty and respect and compassion. The crushing of labor and the working
man is depressing, but we've overcome worse. We need more Pete's to help us see it, everyone
knows he was right.
16Recommend
•
Walden S Morton
Portland Maine 21 days ago
One of the truly great men of my lifetime, and the deliverer of hope and joy despite what we all
lived through. So glad he was only sick for a very short time. God bless him and welcome him
home.
16Recommend
•
DL
21 days ago
I'll now give these last few molecules of "I."
And you who sing,
And you who stand nearby,
I do charge you not to cry.
Guard well our human chain,
Watch well you keep it strong,
As long as sun will shine.
And this our home,
Keep pure and sweet and green,
For now I'm yours
And you are also mine.
•
16Recommend
Sajwert
NH 21 days ago
'"He also stated: “I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical
or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private
such compulsion as this.”'
This is what integrity is. This is what honorable behavior is. This is what common decency and
moral values is.
And we need to say to those who would turn this country into Big Brother exactly what he said to
the "communist witch hunters" in congress.
16Recommend
•
Bette
NYC 22 days ago
Thank you for the long full article. Pete was an important part of my growing up. And an important
"shared experience"
16Recommend
•
SoxFan
Raleigh NC 22 days ago
The earth is a lesser place now that he is gone.
16Recommend
•
Michelle R.
San Francisco area 22 days ago
My first concert ever was a Pete Seeger concert. I was a little girl, thrilled to be staying up past
midnight, and just a bit scared of the picketers outside the hall. The memories of that concert
have stayed with me ever since, and Pete has been a beacon of inspiration. ... and he started to
dance... a bi yo yo, bi yo yo, bi yo yo... Blessings to you, Pete, on the next stage of your journey.
And condolences to all those close to you. You will be missed.
16Recommend
•
polymath
British Columbia 22 days ago
I agree. (But his lack of a Nobel prize does not diminish his achievements and inspiration in any
way.)
•
In reply to William Messer
•
16Recommend
Mike
Bronx 22 days ago
Pete lived a full life and has much to be proud of. Rest in peace dude.
•
16Recommend
annenigma
montana 20 days ago
God how I love that man. Just think of how many people Pete Seeger touched so powerfully with
his beautiful songs, words, and actions because they were heartfelt and genuine. And he didn't
even have the power of the Presidency. He also didn't have television exposure after Hoover
leaked his FBI file, then the HUAC did their dirty work to cap it all off.
It brings tears to my eyes that we have lost such a genuine and caring human being who was
also, blessedly, an Activist. That's why he touches my heart so deeply.
It's disturbing to think that a question posed to him by the House Un-American Activities
Committee wouldn't even be asked today, given the NSA's abilities to secretly go after whatever
information they want about us. Unlike 'back in the day', it's all now legal, and what they do with
that personal info stays secret as well, by authorities of the NDAA, Patriot Act, etc.
At least during the Hoover and HUAC years, we could more easily see and hear what they were
doing and the damage resulting. Now everything is stealthy and kept below the corporate media
radar as well. The gag orders accompanying National Security Letters apply for 50 years, so
people essentially aren't EVER allowed to reveal they've even been questioned or forced to give
over information.
Pete Seeger's beautiful life was a work of art. I hope we will all try to keep a part of his activist
spirit alive in ourselves. There is no better way to honor his life and our common beliefs and
goals.
•
15Recommend
NYT Pick
Michael Agostino
Highland Park, IL 20 days ago
In 1965/66(?) I was an art student working part time at the Logan Hotel at the airport in Boston
and Pete Seeger came in around 1:00 a.m. after a performance. He was poolside with two other
people in his party. I serve him his food and drink and I tell him how much I dig his music. He
pulls out his guitar and plays a song for just me. There was nobody else around so this wasn't an
act of self-promotion, just a kind act for a young man. He's been with us all of our lives, we'll all
miss him.
•
15Recommend
Michael Deane
Los Angeles 21 days ago
Like everyone here I am saddened by Pete Seeger passing but I am really loving reading the
wonderful posts from so many thoughtful and inspired readers. Pete and Woody were amazing
American icons, heroes both. I had the pleasure of meeting Pete once or twice and he just lit up
the room!
And I still think This Land is Your land should be our national anthem...
•
15Recommend
John Smith
NY 21 days ago
Pete Seeger walked the walk.
He will be missed.
•
15Recommend
A Goldstein
Portland 21 days ago
Have you noticed how many of the comments about Pete Seeger describe personal encounters
with him or knowing him personally? He connected with so much of humanity.
•
15Recommend
Henry Arnold
Sewanee, TN 21 days ago
What a great American. I heartily applaud the suggestion to name the new bridge for him.
•
15Recommend
S. Bliss
Albuquerque 21 days ago
Wow. Ya'll loved him as much as I did.
•
15Recommend
Notafan
NJ 21 days ago
The troubadour of Democracy and America.
•
15Recommend
Shelly Lieff
Pete Seeger, I grew up with you!! From Camp Hadar and Camp JCC in Connecticut, marching in
Boston in the 60's, nearly all the songs I sang to my own children, grandchildren and to all the
children and babies it has been my privilege to care for, are Pete Seeger songs.
•
15Recommend
Eileen
Upstate NY 21 days ago
Pete provides the soundtrack to my entry into community based activism. As a 17 year old circa
1972 I carpooled with older anti-war activists to a rally in New Paltz and heard him for first time.
He was all about the message and the medium. The man from Beacon who has always been an
American beacon - pointing toward the best of our ideals. Name a bridge, a school, whatever-but
carry on planting the seeds with sharing his (our) songs and decent belief of good will to all. Salt
of the earth that called all the world his home, his sister or brother. What a role model. He led a
good life. Thank you Pete.
15Recommend
•
Jakespeare
Brandon, Manitoba 21 days ago
A true singing citizen of the World, Pete Seeger passes on into the Spirit World. I wish to
remember how he was so well heard for his music in Canada when he was blackballed and
labeled mid-century in McCarthyist America. Such a noble heart and indomitable character.
America will always be singing because of Pete Seeger.
15Recommend
•
DLH
massachusetts 21 days ago
Yesterday afternoon I met with my singing circle. Just a bunch of women of a certain age, some
with instruments, some with voices, some with talent, all with love of music. We sang from "RIse
Up Singing" a book of words and chords, Introduction by Pete Seeger. He hoped that singing
could change the world. Let's remember to try.
And the idea about naming the new bridge for him is a great one but remember to keep on
protecting the river and the world. I know he'd rather the cleanest river than the biggest bridge for
a monument.
•
15Recommend
sanford smith
A great American .His name will live on as we have already forgotten the idiots on the House
UnAmerican Activity Committee
•
15Recommend
Texgotham
North Texas 21 days ago
I recall the lasting effect of Pete Seeger going back to the days of the Henry Wallace campaign in
1948, the days of my youthful idealism. Our mutual goals of peace, social justice and civil rights
and of course, civil liberties that are still atop my political agenda. May God grant him peace.
•
15Recommend
Terence Stoeckert
Hoboken, NJ 21 days ago
I remember, as I'm sure many others here will have as well, watching the inauguration ceremony
in 2008 and and saying to my wife, the music has to end with Pete Seeger leading "This Land is
Your Land." In a small miracle, it did. In that moment, everything seemed possible. Alas, that
would turn out to have been the high point of the Obama administration. Perhaps such a
magnificent moment could only have been followed by the cascade of disappointments since.
Thank you Pete, for that moment and for so many others when your voice helped to forge
community in the face of the myriad forces that would dissolve it.
•
15Recommend
janep01
Denver 21 days ago
Yes! Rename the Tappan Zee!!
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In reply to DWBH
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15Recommend
Judith Remick
Huntington, NY 21 days ago
A giant of a man -- a great musicologist, a true patriot and a spiritual father to so many of us: Pete
Seeger will be sorely missed. So long, Pete, and I hope you will sing with Toshi, Woody, Lee and
all your old gang with the angels. The way in which you addressed HUAC was emblematic of
your pure and noble soul.
•
15Recommend
Bruce Olson
Houston 21 days ago
Pete Seeger is an ICON. He will be missed but his impact will live on far beyond the small petty
minds of those who feared him for what he was....Compassionate, a man of and for the people
above all else.
Joe McCarthy, The House Un-American Activities Committee fear mongers, Hoover's paranoid
FBI, the John Birch Society and so many of America's CINOs (Christian's in Name Only): he
relegated them all to the dustbin (some would say trash heap) of history.
He embodied and lived the spirit of Woody Guthrie's timeless words that are the American dream:
"This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me."
And by you and me he meant all of us, the people of this great land, regardless of our individual
color, gender, sexual persuasion, religion, wealth or condition.
15Recommend
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NYT Pick
NGM
Astoria NY 21 days ago
Wish I didn't watch the Seeger/Springsteen video of "This Land" in the office. My eyes are tearing
up and nobody here even knows who he is.
15Recommend
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NYT Pick
John G.
Rumson, NJ 21 days ago
I shared my memories and impressions of Pete Seeger with my third graders this morning. I think
I reached them, and I told them that I hoped that the message that he brought to us all would stay
with them. Maybe when they're older, they'll be moved to explore on their own the lessons of love
and hope that will be Pete's legacy. Mine were not the only moist eyes in the classroom as we
listened to his stirring version of "We Shall Overcome" from the 1963 Carnegie Hall album.
15Recommend
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Bos
is a trusted commenter Boston 22 days ago
R.I.P. Pete
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15Recommend
Jacques Moury Beauchamp
Loire Valley, France 20 days ago
I was born in post WW2 France, and that's where I grew up. In junior high school I studied
English and hated every minute of it. After 5 years I still couldn't speak a full sentence. I was also
extremely shy. And then…
The French record label Chant du Monde released Pete Seeger's "American Favorite Ballads"
Vol 1 in a big foldout cover graced with all the song's English lyrics and their French translation.
Today, I am an American citizen, a performer, singer and songwriter. I write all my songs in
American and I wouldn't even consider writing them in another language.
Thank you Mister Seeger. You opened even more doors than you could imagined.
•
14Recommend
Dennis
Johns Island, SC 20 days ago
At a July 4 weekend Smithsonian fair, I was sitting on a bench on the mall with my 4 year old son
and 3 year old daughter waiting for my wife, who was changing diapers on our youngest child.
The children and I were all alone, away from the crowds.
A lean man with a banjo came walking by, spotted the children and stopped.
He asked if they'd like to hear a song. My daughter said, "Puff," a favorite of hers. He leaned over
and started picking.
So Pete Seeger gave us a ten minute personal concert, mesmerizing the children . . . and me.
Then, he smiled and walked off.
14Recommend
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Marsha
Texas 21 days ago
I took my daughter to see Pete Seeger at his annual post-Thanksgiving concert at Carnegie Hall
in 1992. It was wonderful, and afterwards we waited for what seemed like hours in the cold at the
stage door to get his autograph, until we were the only ones left waiting. Then suddenly the door
was kicked open and out came Pete Seeger, whistling and cheerful with several banjos and
guitars slung across either shoulder. He had a pen ready to go and signed a clear, beautiful
signature in my daughter's program. Then his wife drove up in a small car, and called out to him
that it was time to go. We watched him fold himself into the car and then it turned into the New
York traffic and was lost in the stream of cars. A great memory.
14Recommend
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NYT Pick
tosten
Swan Valley, Montana 21 days ago
When I was growing up in Minnesota in the depths of the cold war I had the chance to travel to
New York and hear Pete Seeger at Madison Square Garden. I remember him alone in the
spotlight singing This Land is Your Land to a rapt crowd. A few years ago I was teaching in China
and we led an assembly of 2000 students, parents, teachers, and even a few party
representatives singing that song in Mandarin using Chinese locations that a group of students
had written. Seeger's influence with the music industry was important but his influence with kids
was especially significant to him. As I walked in the dark from that auditorium I heard a young boy
singing in Chinese, this land is your land, this land is my land as he walked back to his classroom.
Pete Seeger would have liked to have been there for that. I think in a lot of ways he was. His
machine had surrounded hate and caused it to surrender. We had all won the cold war not by
defeating any enemy other than hate and were left with singing kids. Thank you for believing in
that result Mr. Seeger. It made a difference.
14Recommend
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Jay
Hartford 21 days ago
On April 18, 1975, as a senior in college and political science major, I went to Concord, Mass to
be part of the celebration of America's two hundred birthday ( the real one as the shot was heard
around the world). President Nixon was gone, President Ford was coming the next day to speak
how America was moving forward. But oops, Saigon was falling, the carnage of American youth
was great, the division was huge between the establishment and the youth. A constant source of
positive energy that whole night was, at the forefront, Pete Seeger, providing hope, strength and
the basic belief that the goodness of the human condition would bring us through. We are still on
that journey and we will miss that guiding force.
14Recommend
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Web
Alaska 21 days ago
"By the summer of 1951, the “Red Channels” citation and leaks from F.B.I. files had led to the
cancellation of television appearances. In 1951, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
investigated the Weavers for sedition."
No doubt the NSA kept up this tradition of snooping into the private life and opinions of this great
American. What happened to the First Amendment? Freedom of speech and association?
America looks small when its government spies on its most thoughtful citizens. Pete Seeger
spoke out at considerable personal risk when lesser Americans kept silent or joined the braying
crowds of intolerant citizens who feared free speech and association. Play a Pete Seeger
recording today to honor this American hero.
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14Recommend
Alison Kane
When I was a little girl of 6 and 7 years old, a tall, thin man with a banjo used to come once a
year to my grammar school located in Greenwich Village. I would go home singing parts of his
songs, and would ask my mother what some of the words meant. Years later I learned that the
man was Pete Seeger. In blacklisting him from traditional media, the country inadvertently gave
me and thousands of other young people the chance to be enchanted and influenced by folk
music, and by this unique, wonderful human being.
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14Recommend
alexander hamilton
I'm not sure whether to quote from To Kill A Mockingbird ("Miss Jean Louise. Miss Jean Louise,
stand up. Your father's passing") or Shakespeare: "He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall
not look upon his like again." Whether you were an enthusiastic fan of Seeger's music or not, he
spoke for all of us in facing down the House Un-American Activities Committee when he said: “I
am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs
or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these
are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as
this.” Thank you, Mr. Seeger, for reminding everyone what it means to be an American citizen,
truly free under the law. Take note, Congress and Mr. President. These strong words, spoken
over 60 years ago, still resonate where ultimate sovereignty resides- among We the People, not
among the self-absorbed, self-enriching, dynasty-enthralled Washington crowd, whose only folkhero is most likely Louis XIV.
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14Recommend
Peter
Redmond, WA 21 days ago
America has lost a great patriot. No voice spoke more clearly for justice, freedom, and a fair deal
for your neighbor. Rest in peace, Pete.
14Recommend
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Bev Kagan
Miami, FL 21 days ago
I grew up listening to Pete Seeger in high school in Montreal. We had hootenannies, sang songs
from Sing Out! followed everything Pete was singing and doing. From the early 60s, whenever
and wherever I could, I would see him. The last time, near Fenway Boston in the late 70s, he
sang and spoke about the Hudson. A course in Peter Seeger should be mandatory for young kids
today. For me, it's the end of an era.
14Recommend
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JD in TN
Portland, TN 21 days ago
America has lost a living link to generations of music history. This is the man who taught Dr. King
to sing, "We Shall Overcome." This is the man who renewed the nation's interest in its rich
musical heritage--even at a time when artists like Elvis Presley and Little Richard were moving
music forward. This is the man who tutored Guthrie, Dylan, Springsteen and so many other artists
and activists. America's musical culture will bear his imprint for many generations to come.
14Recommend
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ogonzalez
21 days ago
Thank you dear Pete, for your courage, your poetry, your music.
14Recommend
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Erin
Sesame Street launched the day I started kindergarten. At age 4, Pete Seeger was the first
person I ever saw play an instrument and sing. A lifetime of music later, I know I would be
someone else without him.
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14Recommend
Bill in Vermont
Norwich VT / Brookline MA 21 days ago
Pete Seeger is perhaps an archetype of how a specific individual can make a monumental
difference for many and for the common good. Quite the contrast to those whose efforts are
geared towards creating the monuments of self-aggrandizement, whether they be financial
empires or towers trumpeting their names.
Thank you Pete for your songs and your inspiration. It is an honor that all of my life has
overlapped with much of yours; that my formative years corresponded with and had been greatly
influenced by your Civil Rights and Anti-War eras' work.
14Recommend
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SKV
NYC 21 days ago
No, he did not "repent." He was an idealist, who believed communal living was what we should all
aspire to. It's a better goal than Darwinian capitalism, if you have a heart.
•
In reply to Campesino
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14Recommend
Don Galluzzi
I will always remember in my minds eye the joy of singing with him in a ground floor room at the
Downtown Community School. He is one of a number of special blessings I have been fortunate
to have been gifted. It was Pete that first made me aware of the power of words in song. Through
all the the obstacles and silliness he faced, he lived a principled life with class and love, and he
took the time to care about children...of which I was one.
I am smiling a sad smile.
•
14Recommend
Richard Scott
We lost a great one. Pete Seeger was a folk singer for our land.
And you knew the songs he sang came from the folk tradition: songs that are never new and yet
never grow old.
Pete, this land is our land, this land is yours, and our country is richer now by far for having heard
you sing, poorer now that you have left us.
I count myself lucky to have been alive when Pete was singing our stories.
God bless you, Pete Seeger. May you rest in peace. Your labors are finished, but what you gave
us still shines.
14Recommend
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Lucie McKee
Bennington, Vermont 21 days ago
This country needs a Pete Seeger revival to bring back our humanity. Corporations with their
soulless wars and ruining the environment for the sake of money must end. It must end.
14Recommend
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Sav
Philadelphia 21 days ago
Farewell, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the joy of the music, the inspiration of the
courage.
14Recommend
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janet
phoenix 22 days ago
A real hero to Americans. Mr. Seeger sang about his love for our country. He remained true to his
convictions and inspired so many of us with his humility and poise. What a thirlling moment to see
Pete sing at the Lincoln Memorial on the eve of President Obama's inaguration. Rest easy Pete.
Thank you!
14Recommend
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ATL
Ringoes, NJ 20 days ago
When I got home from work yesterday, the first thing my 10-year old son told me was that Pete
Seeger had died, and his entire school sang "If I had a hammer" as a tribute. Wish I had been
there at the school. The only thing better than hearing Pete Seeger sing, is to hear the next
generation sing his songs and try to live his values.
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13Recommend
javierlav
Spain 20 days ago
After reading some of the comments, I would have to say I do not agree.
In my opinion Mr. Seeger was a "humanist and an internationalist" which is to say a real human
being who was not bought by nationalisms of any sort.
Sadly, people nowadays respond more to religion and flags than their condition as human beings.
As a Spaniard I would like to say "gracias" to Mr. Seeger for not forgetting the Spanish Republic
as it was forgotten by all the so called democracies (except Czechoslovakia) during the Civil War
and after the Second World War.
•
13Recommend
NYT Pick
sundarimudgirl
seattle, wa 21 days ago
I don't want to face the rest of the 21st century without him.
13Recommend
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barlow herget
raleigh, nc 21 days ago
A truly great American. He made our hearts sing
13Recommend
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mvgeo1
21 days ago
Heard it on NBC News tonight - The Seeger Zee Bridge - the best name for the new bridge
across the Hudson at its widest point - The River he and many millions love!
13Recommend
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LV
SF 21 days ago
Tears flow because we are moved by the beautiful music, persona, and life history of Pete
Seeger and also because we are reminded of the good in us waiting to manifest itself in
wonderful ways. Pete Seeger will always be an inspiration!
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13Recommend
Butch
Washington State 21 days ago
What a wonderful tribute to a true American musical treasure. I always thought this man could live
forever and it truly saddened me to hear about his passing today. In spite of what this government
tried to do to the voices of opposition in the 1950's he stood his ground and by his principals and
prevailed whilst those leading the charges ended up in shame without any decency.
May Pete Seeger always live on in his music and rich history and in what he tried to teach us
about taking care of the environment and about caring for each other and that war is never the
answer or the solution to our problems.
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13Recommend
Martha Davis
Knoxville, Tenn. 21 days ago
We can most honor this great American hero by heeding his call to justice for all. Carry It On.
13Recommend
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Jeff
Placerville, California 21 days ago
Pete's light will never go out as long as one person sings one protest song, one old melody, or
helps one person in need. He is a new and bright star in the sky.
•
In reply to ida
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13Recommend
planetary occupant
earth 21 days ago
Saw Pete Seeger sing at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, in the 1960s, I think. Sang along, of
course, you had to if you went to one of his concerts.
Loved his songs and his attitude, his approach to the world. Loved him.
Requiescat in pace, Pete. You lived a good life and helped many of us along the way.
13Recommend
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Elaine
Falls Church, VA 21 days ago
Pete Seeger is an American original and hero. He contributed so much to this country - by being
optimistic, by being his own person, by being a visionary and by staying true to his beliefs and
principles. His longevity and productivity reflected his natural enthusiasm and love for people and
music. The songs he contributed to our culture are timeless. Thanks to Pete for everything!
13Recommend
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Judy
I couldn't get to Washington for Obama's first inaugural, but when Pete and Bruce Springsteen
sang "This Land Is Your Land" in front of the Lincoln Memorial, I was sitting right in front of my TV
singing along.
RIP Pete. We miss you already.
13Recommend
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Allison
Sausalito, Calif 21 days ago
Deep in my gut, I wonder, what will we do without Pete Seeger? Thank you, dear man, for what
you've given us.
13Recommend
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NYT Pick
Don Drake
Great, sensitive, thorough obit equal to the man, his work, and his impact on generations of folk
musicians, the environment and the continuing struggle for justice and peace in the world. Thank
you, Jon Pareles.
13Recommend
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Keith
CA 21 days ago
One of the TRUE American patriots. He stood for what is the best of America.
13Recommend
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CML
Pullman, WA 21 days ago
A big tree has fallen. He and Toshi took only what they needed, but they left us great things.
Great things. Thank you.
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13Recommend
lincoln
boston 21 days ago
A hero to the world, a hero to me. We are all better people because of Pete Seeger.
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13Recommend
Karl V
I'll never forget seeing Pete with a shovel filling a pothole with gravel at one of the Sloop Club's
festivals at the riverfront in Beacon. He would have been about 89 at the time. In addition to his
talent and vision, Pete had a deep self-respect and an equally deep humility, which I think add up
to the luminous dignity that allowed him to expect the best from the world and to work so hard
and so joyfully to create it.
"...you can't live without love; you can't live without fun and laughter; you can't live without
friends." -Pete Seeger (Democracy Now interview)
One correction to the obit: Mr Pareles' repeats the story about Pete and the axe at Dylan's
electric performance at Newport in 1956. Far from feeling "betrayed" by Dylan's electricification,
Pete was upset (as he reported in an interview on Democracy Now) that the sound was so poor
during the song "Maggie's Farm" that "you couldn't hear the words." He said that it was "a great
song" and that he was so frustrated by the bad sound that he said to someone that he felt like
cutting the cables with the axe.
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13Recommend
Steve Scheiber
Slingerlands, NY 21 days ago
The world has indeed lost a great man who went from the House Un-American Activities
Committee to the Kennedy Center in a mere 50 years.
I met Pete (and Toshi) in 1969 as a volunteer helping to produce the original fund-raising
concerts for the Clearwater in Nyack NY and elsewhere. (It was also my first look at Don
McLean.) He was a gentle and gracious man who believed in the causes he fought for. Watching
him embrace crowds and individuals showed me how to really work for a cause.
He was also more generous and more open than most people who call themselves celebrities.
That same year I was researching a major project for a college history course (actually in lieu of
the course) on the First Amendment, focusing on Red Channels, the Blacklist, and the
Congressional hearings. I contacted him to help me. He spent an entire afternoon with me, giving
me a first-hand look at the events of that time. I was impressed by his graciousness in helping a
poor college student exposing what had to be a difficult time in his life.
A personal man, a man of conscience, and one of the most patriotic Americans (not "flag-waving"
patriotism, but the kind that reminds us what the country REALLY stands for) I've ever known.
You always furthered the cause of peace, Pete. Now you can rest.
•
13Recommend
Bruce Rozenblit
Kansas City 21 days ago
I'm really sad. Pete Seeger was an icon, not just of music, but of civil rights. He had as great an
impact on our society as any president could have. He didn't change the world with money or
political influence, he did it with song. He changed the world with his poetry. He defeated hatred
with his music. He changed people minds by changing their hearts. He made a difference.
•
13Recommend
East End
East Hampton, NY 21 days ago
It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's a song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land
THANK YOU FOREVER PETE, FOR THAT ALL THE OTHER MUSIC THAT BECAME THE
GLUE OF OUR COMMUNITY. WE LOVED YOU. WE WILL MISS YOU. FAREWELL OLD
TROUBADOUR.
13Recommend
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Robert Rothman
(To the tune of "Joe Hill")
I dreamed I saw Pete Seeger last night, singing out a song,
And picking on his banjo,
He said "Come on, sing along,
Now come on, sing along.
He sang about a hammer, and he sang of how time turns,
He asked where all the flowers went,
And asked when will they learn?
Pete asked "When will they learn"?
He sang about some soldiers slogging waist-deep through the mud,
He sang to try to tell us that
It's time to stop the blood,
It's time to stop the blood.
Then Pete said "It's been fun, but now it's time, I've got to go.
I'm booked to do a singing gig
With Woody and with Joe,
With Woody and with Joe."
Well, Pete's now gone forever but his songs are here to stay,
They'll carry on his dream to build
A better world someday,
A better world someday.
13Recommend
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Greg
Newtown,CT 22 days ago
Pete Seeger will always be around.
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13Recommend
Herbert M Simpson
Geneseo, NY 22 days ago
I've seen people smile or tear up just at the name of Pete Seeger.
The appeal and sheer number of his famous songs are mind-boggling. I doubt that this country
has ever produced a
more significant or more gifted artist.
13Recommend
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kienhoa68
ma 22 days ago
Pete was more than a singer. He represented the era.
13Recommend
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Glassyeyed
Indiana 22 days ago
Goodbye old friend. We're still listening! Thank you.
13Recommend
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RagMag
One of my greatest honors was working as a Litter Picker with Pete and Toshi at the Clearwater
Festival. What a wonderful humble human being Pete Seeger was. Imagine America without
Pete, Woody Guthrie and Huddie Ledbetter. Not possible.
13Recommend
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tom
oklahoma city 22 days ago
One of my true heroes is no longer walking among us. What a classy guy Pete Seeger was.
Blackballed and wrongfully labelled a communist, a troubadour of the Civil Rights era, Pete
Seeger triumphed over those who would have crushed him.
What a true American hero!!
13Recommend
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Peggy Sapphire
Craftsbury, VT 22 days ago
There shall be, among the coming generations' voices & spirits, those who shall teach & sing &
persevere as Pete did, that Peace is the answer, that we must honor working men & women, that
we must work for Clear Waters. I have dreaded this moment of learning that Pete is
gone...Please let us all Overcome.
13Recommend
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R
Texas 21 days ago
Pete Seeger, if we are to believe his own words, did not feel betrayed by Dylan's electric
performance at Newport in 1965. You've done a great disservice to a wonderful man by
perpetuating myth as historical fact. Some simple research would have avoided
this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXbf7o8HGv0
13Recommend
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Skirt
NYC 22 days ago
Nothing but respect, admiration and love for this man. My condolences to the family.
13Recommend
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Justice Holmes
Charleston 21 days ago
He spoke truth to power with a sweet sweet sound. He will be missed.
12Recommend
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Lou Gross
Knoxville, Tennessee 21 days ago
I took a month off from my dissertation work in 1978 to organize a solo concert by Pete for the
Cornell Folk Song Society just so I could meet him. A finer investment I can't imagine. The 2000
attendees were captivated and coaxed into song in a way that only Pete could bring about. His
stirring telling of the life (and death) of Victor Jara (based I think on a song that Arlo Guthrie wrote
from a poem by Adrian Mitchell) still brings tears to my eyes. "Living in the Country" has remained
my favorite guitar piece and I vaguely recall Pete noting somewhere that it was the finest piece he
ever composed. I've had the pleasure of working with many wonderful songwriters and traditional
musicians over the past several decades - Pete's influence permeates. May his memory be for a
blessing.
12Recommend
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ootzard8
florida 21 days ago
As a 5th and 6th former at the Fireldston School we were fortunate enough to meet Pete Seeger
many times when we worked at two social camps for the youth of the Lower East side. Our duties
were in the spring make the camp livable for the coming summer students and in the Fall put
everything away. Since the two camps were close to the Seeger log cabin he would wander over,
banjo in hand, and help us with wonderful songs. We would sit at night around a fire and sing and
talk, This is how I remember him. A joyful man who wanted to help and give so much of himself.
He is always in our hearts. A giant among men
12Recommend
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MN
Michigan 21 days ago
In 1965, in Columbus Ohio, which strongly supported the war in Vietnam, Pete gave a concert
that gave heart and courage to an audience who believed that the war was wrong. The
atmosphere in the city was polarized and charged, and giving that concert was a characteristic
act of courage , and that's why we love Pete so.
•
12Recommend
RagMag
Now begins the Pete Seeger legacy.
Watch as his influence grows again.
He has truly "gone on to organize".
12Recommend
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Robert Coane
Nova Scotia/New York 21 days ago
The most important news item of the last two days: a social and musical GIANT is gone, an
immeasurable loss by any standard.
12Recommend
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Jake
Wisconsin 21 days ago
Well, this hurts. Coincidentally, I just happened to be thinking yesterday how much I would value
a friendship with Pete had I actually happened to know him. I reminded myself he had got old, but
then I didn't think that really mattered. Now tonight I see this news, and it feels as if I really did
lose a close friend. Maybe in some way I did. Maybe we all did.
•
12Recommend
@taxterry
New York, New York and Tokyo, Japan 21 days ago
Excellent obituary. Sad to learn Pete Seeger has gone to heaven. Feel very fortunate to have
experienced him share his energy in song. Very fragile following his wife Toshi's passing in July,
he was an easy-going fellow who just wanted to keep up with splitting his own stove wood until
the end.
WAMC Northeast Public Radio archives many hours of interviews with him on its website
at http://bit.ly/1e5j0Xb.
May Light Perpetual shine upon Pete and his memory as well as his river always be a blessing to
his extended family and us.
•
12Recommend
Debra
is a trusted commenter Formerly From NYC 21 days ago
We shall overcome some day but it will be harder without Pete Seeger. Thank goodness his
music will live on.
Now we need our President to acknowledge our country's great loss during the State of the Union
address tonight.
•
12Recommend
JR
Providence, RI 21 days ago
What an honorable and noble life, and such a humble spirit.
•
12Recommend
NYT Pick
Anna from Canada
Ontario, Canada 21 days ago
As a non- American I can say that Pete Seeger was the first singer/songwriter that I was
introduced to by my father when I was 8 years old. Pete stood for then as so many of us stand for
now, what is right: not popular, but right. He was of the people for the people and he made
personal sacrifices and stood up for what he believed in. He was a freedom fighter along with
Martin Luther King Jr. and others in the 50's and 60's and continued to be in his own way right up
until the end.
You may be gone Pete, but your music and your passion for people and your message will never
be forgotten. Thank you.
•
12Recommend
Peter Chagall
I had the true fortune of seeing Pete Seeger sing a few songs in a park along the Hudson River
on a late summer evening a couple of years ago. His 92-year old body was tall, lean, and frail,
and as he stood there on the stage, you almost wondered how it could even support the banjo
that was strapped around his shoulders. As he led a small crowd in a sing-along of This Land is
Your Land, I was swept away in a moment I will not soon forget. Seeing this national treasure, a
breathing artifact that encompassed a whole century of American history, sing the most
quintessential and beautiful of American songs.
Later on that night, after the show, I got a chance to have a word with him. His grip was strong as
he shook my hand, and his eyes glowed with a fiery aliveness that was indifferent to the toll that
the years had taken on his body.
This man did so much to raise consciousness and spread compassion in a country that fought
him every step of the way. We should all be grateful.
Godspeed, Pete...
•
12Recommend
NCC1401
An artist, a thinker, a great American.
•
12Recommend
Ed Sayer
Northampton, MA 21 days ago
What a tremendous loss of an iconic folksinger songwriter. He gave me and the rest of us a
tremendous gift of love and appreciation of music.
•
12Recommend
mont
Santa Barbara, Ca 21 days ago
Pete should be a shining light to all of today's young folk who carry the torch of individual
liberation. He certainly had deep inspiration for myself and my generation and set the cadence for
all people to speak out. Through his vehicle of song he was able to keep the hearts of so many
beating with optimism and hope. His persona really did make me smile through his message. He
truly was "a beacon in a world of flashlights".
In reference to his banjo inscription, "This machine machine surrounds hate and forces it to
surrender", I had this put on the back of my mortar mixer and it still makes a fine batch of mud.
Onward Pete!
•
12Recommend
raven55
"Well, down in Memphis, here's what they found...
Down in Pittsburgh, here's what they found...
Down in Birmingham and Bethlehem, here's what they found...
If you don't let red-baiting break you up,
If you don't let race hatred break you up,
(And if you don't let homophobia break you up)
And you don't let vigilantism break you up...!
You'll win.
(What I mean is...take it easy but take it!)
RIP Pete and thank you.
•
12Recommend
Steve
Perhaps I missed it but I didn't notice a mention of his Kennedy Center honor.
It's always been fascinating that Mr. Seeger who served in the military has been criticized for
years by the conservative chicken hawks who never did.
One other interesting family connection: his uncle Alan Seeger wrote the famous World War I
poem "I have a Rendezvous With Death" which was one of President Kennedy's favorites. Alan
Seeger was killed in World War I.
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12Recommend
steve wall
waynesville, nc 21 days ago
Years ago, when working at a Pacifica station, I got to interview Pete before a concert. He usually
refused interviews because he was so against the "cult of the personality" and so the interview
guidelines were that it could not be about him, but about the issues he was involved in. That 15
minute dialogue was just what you would think...about all he cared about, especially about each
of us being engaged in promoting change.
He wrote this song at the funeral of John McManus of the Guardian. Now for you, Pete. How we
will miss your presence in the world:
To My Old Brown Earth
I'll now give these last few molecules
of "I"
And you, who sing
And you, who stand nearby
I do charge you not to cry
As long as sun will shine
And this our home
For now I'm yours
And you are also
Mine.
12Recommend
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Robert Guenveur
Mr. Seeger was American. HUAC was not. Thank you sir.
12Recommend
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NYT Pick
Thoughtful Observer
My brother, cousin and I were lucky enough to attend University Settlement Camp in Beacon, NY
in the mid to late 1950's. Pete Seeger's father-in-law was the caretaker of the grounds and most
evenings after dinner, Pete Seeger and the Weavers would perform their songs for us outdoors
on a tiered semi circular embankment where we would sing along with our arms wrapped around
each other our and bodies swaying to the sounds. Wherever we went we sang his songs. And
when we came home from camp, our parents received a full concert by us. It was a magical time.
We have always known how lucky we were.
12Recommend
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MIMA
heartsny 21 days ago
We're still wondering where all the flowers have gone and when will we/they ever learn! Even
more so now perhaps.
He had it right.
12Recommend
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Ego Nemo
Not far from here 21 days ago
Who didn't like Pete Seeger?
Plenty of folks -- Nazis, civil rights violators, racists, professional American political paranoids and
just about every incarnation of the human propensity toward the need to protect greed with
violence.
If a man's place can be judged by the enemies he made. Pete Seeger's is at the mountaintop.
And the best part is, he'd be offended by that compliment, himself raging that it misses the point - that the point is that joy is the greatest weapon for justice.
And that justice, not personality, not 'achievement,' is all that really matters.
12Recommend
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Roger Faires
Portland, Oregon 21 days ago
In a world of me me me's, he was the one singing, "us us us".
He had the strength of a thousand good people and the soul of a million. I hope we all remember
him from time to time.
12Recommend
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jerry pritikin
chicago 21 days ago
He endured because he was the real Voice of America. So sad that our government was afraid
he was an influence that they made him out to be a threat. Yet his words were filled with truth. If I
had a religion, it would be dedicated to Pete Seeger's songs and messages throughout
everlasting time. His head belongs on Mt. Rushmore to represent the common man... How lucky
we were to have him this long. Thank you Pete for being there for us!
12Recommend
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Neil
US 21 days ago
An excellent obituary and tribute to an iconic American. That he suffered so much indignity at the
hands of our government and its corporate lackeys, and remained steadfast in his pursuits, is
simply remarkable.
•
12Recommend
DinahMoeHum
Westchester County, NY 22 days ago
A genuine American folk hero in the tradition of Johnny Appleseed.
Pete Seeger planted all kinds of seeds and trees, musically, socially, politically, environmentally.
We, the children, grandchildren, and future generations now eat the fruit.
Fair Winds, Godspeed, and say hello to Toshi for us, Pete.
•
12Recommend
RebeccaTouger
NY 22 days ago
We knew this day must come but what a loss to humanity. He was a great American hero.
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12Recommend
woodyguthrie
Cranford, NJ 22 days ago
Pete was a visionary who cared about more than money. Truly a great American, and one of my
heroes.
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12Recommend
HOUDINI
I met and worked at Pete's Clearwater Great Hudson Revival Festival in 2006. I made a joke that
was somewhat self serving and he did not laugh, and ignored me, and I felt I really screwed the
pooch in meeting him. After my shows, he approached me and was as down to Earth as could
be, telling me he had other things on his mind when we met, and how glad he was I came. When
his wife Toshi died a few months ago, I thought Pete could not live without her. WHat alive! A
GREAT American who reminds us all what this country was founded on. He will be missed.
12Recommend
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Edward Gold
Although I accepted the reality of mortality, I always "fantasized" that Mr. Seeger would live
forever!
Now he is gone after a very long and productive life and we may be glad that he stuck to his guns
and outlasted all who tried to silence him.
Many thanks Pete!
12Recommend
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CBF
Berkeley CA 22 days ago
So long, it's been good to know ya.......
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12Recommend
polymath
British Columbia 22 days ago
I frequently had Pete Seeger and the Weavers playing on the gramophone. Their music, and
especially its warmth and spirit of caring for all other people, continues to uplift me, and everyone
I know whose life was touched by them.
Nowadays not so many people know who Pete Seeger is. I hope that the sad occasion of his
death leads to a remembering that will bring his wonderfulness to new generations.
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12Recommend
PanLeica
Baku, Azerbaijan 22 days ago
Nicely said. Thank you.
•
In reply to Dual
•
12Recommend
Woody
Kealakekua 22 days ago
I giant walked among us.
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12Recommend
Berkeleyalive
Berkeley,CA 22 days ago
Pete Seeger knew goodness, and through him we did as well. In a world that still in many corners
is positioned beneath oppression, his songs can still be taken up by one voice and passed along
to be positioned upon the voices of many.
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12Recommend
tashmuit
Cape Cahd 20 days ago
One of my life's most beautiful memories of Pete Seeger. . . I had the privilege of sailing on Pete's
boat, the Woody Guthrie, a smaller version of a Hudson River ferry sloop, with his organization Beacon Sloop Club. We had finished a Pumpkin Festival weekend somewhere along the upper
East River and were heading up the Hudson to Hastings-on-Hudson late in the evening. I had the
helm while everyone was sleeping. I will ever remember the peaceful beauty of the Manhattan
skyline slowly sliding along in complete silence.
Pete relieved me soon just before we docked at Hastings and I bedded down on the wooden pier.
Later that morning, Pete floated me back into the world by standing over me and singing me
awake. It was an astoundingly, wonderfully beautiful song full of blue sky and morning light, and I
felt as if every angel for miles around was pulling me toward shore. It was one of the most
profoundly beautiful experiences of my life. Godspeed Peter Seeger. May a crew of bright angels
sing you to your rest.
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11Recommend
Karen H
Hudson Valley 20 days ago
Hey folks,
The real way to honor Pete's memory is to pick up litter and keep singing. And believe in your
own power to do good.
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11Recommend
Mark Paris
Santa Fe, NM 21 days ago
In this age of Mean Money and tyranny of the bosses we need Pete and all of us, his spiritual kin,
more deeply than in some times past. We love you, troubadour.
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11Recommend
Richard
Princeton, NJ 21 days ago
And please don't forget Pete Seeger's tremendous legacy as a teacher of music to the many
thousands of us who delved - enthralled and happy - into his instructional books, recordings and
(later) videos.
His manual "How to Play the 5 String Banjo" was the pioneering guide of its kind, and it remains a
delightful classic.
Thanks, Pete!
11Recommend
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Janie
We've lost an American treasure!
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11Recommend
Richard Ludescher
Somerset NJ 21 days ago
Pete Seeger's voice has been a part of my life for nearly sixty years. A sad sad day.
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11Recommend
RagMag
litter picker
only job in new york 1938
trash patrol at the worlds fair
pete and toshi out on a date
to clean up the world - a dream they shared
he sang a thousand songs
folk sing along never a quitter
if ever they’d have a festival
top job - would be collector of litter
we watched him unobserved
as he waited to go on stage
he picked up the refuse on the floor
and then wondered why we called him sage
•
11Recommend
Sushova
Cincinnati, OH 21 days ago
A powerful voice silenced but his legacy lives on. Pete Seeger devoted 94 years to give voice to
all of us.
11Recommend
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emmyabrahams
Auburn, Ca. 21 days ago
Pete sang at the NY Ethical Culture Society, long before he was black listed---in the 1940's.I
remember that tall thin young man as he strummed and sang Arkansas Traveler...and I was lucky
to have been there and heard him as well as several other times. He will be missed.
11Recommend
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judy
toronto 21 days ago
I am showing my age, but remember seeing Pete Seeger with The Weavers in a Montreal concert
when I was a young teenager in the 60s. It was the beginning of an awareness of folk music as
being political, and the bridge to people like Bob Dylan. It was a time of earnest idealism and
innocence which gave way to more cynicism as we matured with the Viet Nam war, the
assassinations of Robert Kennedy and MLK, Watergate and Nixonian politics.
Pete Seeger was an icon of that time, as much as he would abhor any such designation.
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11Recommend
Glasses For 45 Years
Little Neck 21 days ago
Let's get the Tappan Zee Bridge renamed to honor Pete Seeger! Go to Change. Org, search for
Pete Serger, and sign the petition.
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11Recommend
John Friedrich
South Lake Tahoe, CA 21 days ago
Beautifully researched and written tribute to a heroic, yet humble, man. Thank you Jon, and thank
you Pete -- for a meaningful, soulful and inspiring life. Everywhere people are gathered together
singing or organizing to make the world a better, more just and peaceful place, there Pete will be.
Rest in peace.
•
11Recommend
NewVision
Naples, FL 21 days ago
Pete could put more America in a song than most political types can put in a lifetime. He made us
feel great about being here together.
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11Recommend
Deborah Yaffe
Been watching videos all day and just saw that arm wave he would give to get the audience
singing, it's a beautiful gesture, meant literally, a gesture with grace and warmth and if one thing
has to represent him, I'd say that was it. He asked us not to cry but I am. Peace to everyone.
11Recommend
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VWM
Birmingham AL 21 days ago
I cannot think of a better embodiment of courage. He stuck to his principles through thick and
thin, nonviolently but thoroughly convincingly. He trusted his judgment, did not act rashly. He
lifted people's spirits up, reached out to everyone. He decried wealth but did whatever it took to
reach out to the millions, including kids. He championed the decency of fellow citizens, but
blasted wasteful loss of life. Plus he enjoyed himself and wanted you to share the enjoyment with
him. A Pete Seeger concert was not a concert without a singalong.
11Recommend
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Marian Cruz
Hollister, CA 21 days ago
Pete Seeger was a hero, a statesman, a true American and a magnificent singer. My husband
and I went to all his concerts in the San Francisco Bay area. A true inspiration to all.
My sympathy to his family.
11Recommend
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SM
Chicago 21 days ago
Pete Seeger represented to the world what is best and purest side of America. At 94 he died
young.
11Recommend
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Woodfox
It is a pity that Pete did not win the Nobel Peace Prize, a deserving recipient if ever there was
one. I hope that the Walkway Across the Hudson will be soon be renamed after Pete. Pete's soul
and music allowed us all to cross the rivers of life.
11Recommend
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scratchbaker
AZ unfortunately 21 days ago
Pete Seeger was a True American. Would that all people who claim to love their country show it
as Pete. Despite his living 94 years, his death is a huge loss to those who fight for human rights,
peace, personal integrity, and a healthy planet. Rest in peace, Pete.
11Recommend
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VJR
North America 21 days ago
I am devestated. I don't want to work today. I feel like protesting something.
11Recommend
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Kevin Rothstein
is a trusted commenter Somewhere East of the GWB 22 days ago
To everything, there is a season.
11Recommend
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peter
kleinbard 22 days ago
Thanks so much for this thorough obituary. He was a wonderful force in my life, and the lives of
m,any others.
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11Recommend
Lucrezia
There 22 days ago
Rest in peace! Your music will be cherished, your legacy beloved. You have given so much to
this troubled land.
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11Recommend
William Jolly
England 22 days ago
Farewell to a giant of the truth in the battle against political and racist persecution not only the
USA but throughout the World.The World would be a better place if more had listened to his
music in the last century and not tried to silence him.
Jon Gorder
St. Paul, Mn. 22 days ago
A ferocious banjo man A man you could trust.
A fierce guardian of American rights. An always gentle but guiding thrust towards what America
could be if it tried.. A man who had a large hammer.
Now left to us.
HealingNews
Los Angeles, Ca 22 days ago
Pete Seeger created a legacy of those not afraid to step out. Bob Dylan chose to stay out of
political music. It is really not easy to stand up for truth. Our hearts go out to the man in his new
journey through the Cosmos. Your soul is carried through with your harmonies and will continue
into eternity. Gratitude and many thank you's for all the great melodies that have been shared.
Rogerstar
Washington, DC 22 days ago
What an honor to shake Pete Seeger's hand before his concert at Adirondack Community
College in 1971...you'll be long remembered for your songs and dedication to making this country
a better place - characteristics we just don't see much of anymore as demonstrated by the
Grammy's line-up the other night. R.I.P Pete Seeger
Carol Smaldino
Ft. Collins, CO 21 days ago
It isn't all that different for me, that I feel I know Pete Seeger a lifetime. I went to the same camp
as Arlo and the other Guthrie kids where Marjorie Mazia, their mother and his wife also worked. It
was like Woody Guthrie was the country's leader, but really then there was Pete Seeger.
He was the caring prophet who could lead you in song and did for so long.
I knew he was old, but I'm really really sad.
David
Philadelphia 21 days ago
Pete Seeger gave thousands of concerts, attended by millions of people, so maybe there's
somebody who once left a Pete Seeger concert in a bad mood.
But I don't see how anyone could. It was impossible not to be warmed by his voice and his heart.
•
10Recommend
RagMag
People might forget that Pete Seeger also wrote Folk Music instructional books that included him
playing on records. Most of us learned to play guitar or banjo because of Pete.
In addition to everything else.
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10Recommend
Beth Story
Essex, MA 21 days ago
For me, Pete was that rare thing: someone both solid and realistic enough to get things done and
positive and idealistic enough to focus on doing the right things. It is the humanity of the man that
moves us, but his toughness that got him through the awful years (and helped many of us get
through them too). When I see photos of him singing I always think of the magazine Sing Out! for Pete always threw back his head and sang out what he had to say with heart and mind and
voice and muscle. The old folks would say he did things in a workman-like way, and always
conducted himself with dignity and seriousness of purpose, even while taking great pleasure in
his work.
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10Recommend
Allison
RIP to the one and only role model that I had on this earth. Pete Seeger was the first concert I
ever went to - I think I was three, in 1976! Bravo to a life well lived, and to a man who left the
world a far better place than he found it.
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10Recommend
Darchitect
N.J. 21 days ago
I first met him in 1944 when he sang at a meeting of the Farmers Union in NJ..I was 16..he was
only 25, but already the direction of his life was set...and his enthusiasm was catching to all...
...so long...it's been good to know you...
•
10Recommend
NYT Pick
christmann
new england 21 days ago
When I was 18 I went to my first big national anti-war demonstration in D.C. There was a huge
march to the Pentagon, with people carrying signs with the names of casualties of the war; I had
chosen the name of a North Vietnamese village that had been destroyed by U.S. bombs. Each
person walked up to a microphone in front of the Pentagon and shouted the name on the sign he
or she carried. As I walked away after my turn, there was Pete, singing and greeting each of us
(there would have been tens of thousands that day). I thanked him (I was so in awe I could barely
speak); he said "C'mon down to the boat!"- with that big Pete smile. Those few seconds, 45 years
ago - never forgotten. A man of grace and courage who exemplified the best in this country.
Thank you Pete, again and ever.
•
10Recommend
Roger Iaquinta
Chicago 21 days ago
There are many different paths to recognition, renown, infamy, but only a few paths lead to
greatness. Of the few, the most earned are those that require suffering to get there; maintaining
your principles in the face of a world against you, straining but maintaining your integrity, staring
down meaningful and horrifying personal consequences along the way. When Congress and the
FBI fears a banjo player, you know that guy's doing something right.
Its cheap and easy to hastily appraise the life of someone like Pete Seeger as that good old lefty
folk singer who was unapologetically commie before being commie was cool, but it comes up
miles short of elucidating who this man really was.
There's a palpable sense of irony, that the judgement of history strongly suggests the EverymanAmerica we fought for in World War II was much more closely represented by then Persona Non
Grata Pete Seeger than anything we have representing us today.
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10Recommend
Renee Norman
St. Paul 21 days ago
So why has he never been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom? He's been a greater
patriotic and inspirational force than the majority of actual recipients, yet all he got from America
was imprisonment for being un-American. I think we have done him a major wrong.
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10Recommend
Maggie2
Maine 21 days ago
As a national treasure. Pete Seeger should have received the Medal of Freedom years ago.
Along with the anti-communist frenzy that gave us the dreaded HUAC, the fact that he has not
been among its recipients is but one more dark mark on our history.
Sadly, I fear we will not see his (Seeger's) like again. As Edward Stanton said of Abraham Lincoln
following his untimely assassination..."Now he belongs to the ages".
RIP Pete Seeger. I am heading home to listen once again to your music which will live on in our
hearts.
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10Recommend
bruce bernstein
i love the idea of naming the new Tappan Zee Bridge the Pete Seeger Bridge. what do others
think? i'm not sure Pete would have agreed to this -- far too humble -- but I guess his children and
grandchildren can weigh in if the idea gains momentum. put some sort of park with outdoor music
venue(s) under it and then maybe Pete would have agreed...
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10Recommend
Dadof2
I think the only regret I have about Pete Seeger's life is that he never received the Nobel Peace
Prize for all he did for the world, for America, and for peace, from 1939 to 2014--75 years.
But I have to laugh as he probably would have thought the idea totally absurd!
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10Recommend
Peter Bradley
Santa Monica Ca 21 days ago
Pete was not just a great American. He was a great human being.
What he did to help clean up the Hudson River can't be quantified. He and Governor Rockefeller
(Yes a GOOD Republican) were key. They did in about 30 years what 'experts' said would take a
100. It's a beautiful body of water and you can fish in it again.
They are building a replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge now and they are taking special
precautions to disturb the water creatures as little as possible. It all started with Pete and his
sloop. We were so lucky to have him.
Peter Bradley
10Recommend
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Jack Walsh
Lexington, MA 21 days ago
Whew. For a minute there, I thought Orwell/Koestler was talking about our secret police, and our
star chamber courts. Glad you finally clarified that it was the Soviet CP.
I'd hate to think that anyone would see a moral equivalency in the Western intellectuals jumping
on the Homeland Security bandwagon and the Western intellectuals jumping on the CP
bandwagon.
Totally different, totally different.
•
In reply to William Shine
•
10Recommend
Kevin McQuillen
Vermont 21 days ago
A true Giant and bright light; I am truly saddened but his legacy will live on in all he inspired and
will continue to inspire as they hear his music and story. What courage he and others had to
stand up against the McCarthy hearings...and yet so humble.
10Recommend
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SKV
NYC 21 days ago
Get real yourself. Communism is not all evil. Capitalism is not all good.
•
In reply to William Shine
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10Recommend
Swatter
Come on, the guy was barely 20 when Poland was invaded - anybody who has it "right" at that
age is just lucky. And he has apologized more than once. What you and many of his detractors
are missing are the wrong things perpetrated by the US and others prior to the war that he was
aware of, making you more myopic towards "the right" than he was towards "the left".
•
In reply to John D
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10Recommend
dr. bob solomon
21 days ago
Sometimes, thinking of Pete, I felt, though I knew better, he might never leave us, he would stay,
like the Rockie Mountains and the Hudson River, forever.
Now Pete is gone, but as Whitman said, "I hear America, singing". Some of it still sings Pete's
songs. May it always.
.
•
In reply to Anne Russell
•
10Recommend
debra Wolosky
Princeton Jct, nj 21 days ago
This comment is having a hard time getting written. I'm just heartbroken.
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10Recommend
chuck
S C 21 days ago
One of my most treasured items is a post card Pete sent me after hearing a song I wrote that
came out of my work with homeless people. It was under his influence and that of Woody Guthrie
that I became a folk singer and chose to work in the public sector as a counselor/social worker,
so I owe him a double debt.
Thanks, Pete.
•
10Recommend
Diana Moses
is a trusted commenter Arlington, Mass. 22 days ago
We celebrate the man, but, to my way of thinking, it was as a conduit that he helped us so much.
•
10Recommend
William Phillips
Seattle, WA 22 days ago
A tribute to Pete Seeger,
an American treasure and citizen of the world.
May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014
Voice Among Our People
There’s a voice among our people.
Many hearts rise to his call,
Weaving golden threads of music
Into harmonies for all.
Weaving golden threads of music
Into harmonies for all.
There’s a leader in our chorus
With a voice so soft and sure.
He has taught our sons and daughters
Our traditions proud and pure.
He has taught our sons and daughters
Our traditions proud and pure.
There’s a singer of our spirit
Hate surrenders to his ring.
Down the rivers, ‘cross the oceans,
We together sail and sing.
Down the rivers, ‘cross the oceans,
We together sail and sing.
All his brothers and his sisters
Make his music rise and swell.
We who sing and add new verses
Are his hammer and his bell.
We who sing and add new verses
Are his hammer and his bell.
There’s a voice within our people,
Forever will it sing.
When we raise our rainbow chorus,
We can hear our freedom ring.
When we raise our rainbow chorus,
We can hear our freedom ring.
New words, William Phillips
© 2009 WR Phillips
rain_drop26@hotmail.com
Crafted after, “River of My People,” words by Pete Seeger, (c)1953 by Stormking Music Inc.
Music: Traditional Russian tune ("Stenka Razin")
•
10Recommend
ShiningLight
North Coast 22 days ago
Heart, soul and eyes are weeping here.
Such a generous, wise, encouraging person. Was able to see/hear him mostly in the '60's to
'80's. I'll never understand why he was hounded in the 40's to '70s. I'll never forget his reading of
the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in the Berkshires one hot hot hot, 4th of
July.
He and Toshi (and others in the family) are/were loved, respected and will live on past our tears,
as people with courage, intelligence and honesty.
Thank you for this essay, Jon & NYT and thank you to those who cared for him these last few
years.
-----------------(David, Charles Koch and the John Birchers with all their money and twisted, sick minds will
never know the love, respect, and joy that this sad passing has generated.) Those of us who
loved him were blessed and privileged to have him in our lives. A life very well lived.
We'll keep singing, Pete!
10Recommend
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George Tamblyn
Seattle 22 days ago
We need more entertainers with a social conscience. We need their leadership, courage and
inspiration. Pete was an example to follow.
10Recommend
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w84me
armonk, ny 22 days ago
A true genius -- of talent, thought, integrity, emotion, love, and pure joy. Pete -- we will miss your
presence, your life force, and certainly your smile. Thankfully we have your recording that will live
on and be a constant beacon for us all. Thank you for a life well lived.
Mr. Pareles: This was a brilliant tribute to a man whose contribution to not only music, but
(mostly) also to the planet were immeasurable. Thank you, too.
10Recommend
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Mnzr
NYC 22 days ago
And the USSR was an ally of the US in WW2. SO your point is?
•
In reply to Amy
•
10Recommend
sleeve
West Chester PA 22 days ago
Quite sad to see such a kind and gentle soul leave our planet after his enormous contributions to
peace. His story also shows that every 50-60 years, the US seems to go though a period of overt
fascism, as evidenced by the McCarthy era; I also noticed it is always the right wing crazies of the
GOP seeking purity that causes so many of our social ills.
When will the old men learn, when will they ever learn?
•
10Recommend
Indran
Missouri 22 days ago
thank you for all the things you made and all the things you did. talk about making the most of
your time; you'll remain an inspiration to me for the rest of mine.
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10Recommend
cwpnewpaltz
Ossining, NY 20 days ago
What a selfless humanitarian and loyal American Pete Seeger was. How anyone could think
otherwise of someone who so uplifted all around him has always baffled me. Woody Guthrie may
have written "Roll On Columbia" but it was Pete who popularized this paean to the Grand Coulee
Dam-"-your power will turn our darkness to dawn, so Roll On Columbia, Roll On."
I had the great pleasure of hearing his Christmas concerts with Arlo Guthrie annually at Carnegie
Hall in the early 1990's, and always marveled how he always filled the house and his audiences
spanned at least three generations, all of whom felt connected through his music. He was a
national treasure. He was not always right about all the issues, but he cared, he got you thinking,
and he cleaned up the Hudson. It was a very substantive life. There will be no one like him ever
again.
•
9Recommend
JoeScapelli
PA 20 days ago
Pete will be missed. He was a musical mensch on a mission. I've enjoyed reading all the tributes
and stories. Condolences to his family and friends. That's us, too.
•
9Recommend
Sleepless in Suburbia
Westchester, New York 20 days ago
Lovely obituary, Jon Pareles. Thank you.
Pete Seeger made us (tens--if not hundreds--of thousands of "us"es) feel like family. I was a child
in the 1960s, attending protest demonstrations with my family. As you so aptly convey, his was a
different kind of celebrity than we are used to seeing. Pete Seeger made us feel that we could
make the world a better place if we all joined together.
Where have all the flowers gone?
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DavGreg
Marion, AR 20 days ago
"...I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious
beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think
these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such
compulsion as this.”
Pete Seeger before HUAC
Amen
A True Patriot.
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Laura Lucas
Juneau Alaska 21 days ago
Can't really say RIP. Pete wouldn't want it that way. His spirit will keep on motivating us to work
for peace and social justice.
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Preacher's Kid
Knoxville TN 21 days ago
He did indeed hammer in the morning, in the evening, all over this land, all of his life.
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DocC
Danbury CT 21 days ago
Wow, there are a lot of us out here! When I met Pete Seeger several years ago--he was already
quite frail--I thanked him for helping me raise my kids. My daughter told him he was a national
treasure. What a model he was for the power of love.
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Ruth
nys 21 days ago
Write to the Citizens' Advisory Committee, c/o Stamp Development, US Postal Service, 475
L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, D C 20260-3501, and urge them to plan for a Pete
Seeger stamp.
And write to your state representative about naming the bridge.
I first heard Weavers and Pete Seeger recordings in 1954-56 at the home of a neighboring family.
And I have never stopped listening. We moved to the Hudson valley in 1969 and he was one of
the very first encounters we had with the great river. That summer the Clearwater was brand new
and it stopped at many small landings. Pete entertained the people who had come to see the
sloop and of course him as well. It was a happy afternoon.
He changed my life forever.
I do rejoice in his long, giving life.
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monatem
21 days ago
RIP Pete! We love you and will miss your humility, your compassion, your dedication to helping
others and cleaning up the Hudson River. And your music, of course! You will live on in our
hearts and minds.
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WestSider
NYC 21 days ago
RIP Pete. You were one of a kind. I still get goose bumps when I hear your music. The world has
a lot of catching up to do to get to your state of mind.
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Basia
Chicago 21 days ago
Goodnight, Pete. I'll hear you in my dreams!
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Bill Michels
Oak Parkl, Illinois 21 days ago
I remember Pete telling me about his brother Charles Seeger. Pete praised the work of his
brother as a radio astronomer. I am curious why this brother is not included in the obituary.
I enjoyed Pete's presence in the Beacon Sloop Club. He and friends liberated Beacon's once
ferry port restaurant building to house the environmental outreach club. He donated his North
River Sloop to the club. The boat and festivals were used to bring people to the river so that they
would enjoy the river and be inspired to preserve it. The monthly meetings opened with a potluck
and followed with Pete and his friends playing folk music and organizing.
Pete inspired us to believe this was our land. Whether it was an environmental issue or a peace
issue or civil rights issue, he inspired us to make our stand with the conviction that we too owned
this land.
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elkay
NYC 21 days ago
I saw Pete at the Saratoga Springs Arts Festival in the summer 1967. He had just been removed
from the blacklist and was being picketed by the John Birch Society and The Young Republicans.
He performed with Bernice Reagen (sp?) and they were inspirational. I learned to play guitar
because of him. He will be sorely missed.
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Brian
Michigan 21 days ago
Farewell to a wonderful, courageous and optimistic peacemaker who sought the betterment of all.
When I lived near Albany, NY the Public Radio station WAMC had a series of conversations with
him that were truly inspiring.
It is a very strange irony that the commercial preceding the video interview here on this website
was one for a lobbying group for natural gas.
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CathyZ
Durham CT 21 days ago
I feel privileged to have seen him perform in about 1979 when I was at Oberlin College. A great
man has passed. He was the embodiment of righteousness in his music and life. RIP Pete.
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jim
Irvington, NY 21 days ago
"And when these fingers can strum no longer/Hand the old banjo to young ones stronger."
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PM
NYC 21 days ago
Pete Seeger's music knew no boundaries. Although my father voted Republican his entire life,
Pete Seeger was still his favorite singer!
•
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Tony Glover
With nothing but his guitar and his voice, Pete Seeger came to Columbia University to serenade
students, myself included, as we blockaded Hamilton Hall in a civil disobedient protest against the
university's investments in South Africa. We were many days -- perhaps two weeks -- into our
continuous protest (it was a 24-hour, round-the clock action that eventually ended after 21 days),
which included some dank, cold, rainy days. It was 1985 and he was already pushing 70 years
old. He did not ask anything of us (no money). He wanted to cheer us on. Actually, he did ask
something -- that we sing along, which we did. He raised our spirits and energized us. All the
while, he was humorous, compelling, humble. I'll never forget it. Rest in peace.
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bob west
florida 21 days ago
He defined 'principle'
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mutineer
Geneva, NY 21 days ago
A national treasure.
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A Goldstein
Portland 21 days ago
It's very hard to say goodbye to such a folk music giant and humanist. You could get very close to
Pete even if you never met him personally (he always sent me a postcard in response to my
letters, thanking him for every one of his concerts I ever attended. He drew a quick picture of his
banjo and signed it, "Thanks! Pete" every time.
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diane
Pete Seeger was a secular saint...I know I speak for every single person in my generation -- the
so-called "silent" generation of the 50s and 60s -- in mourning the man who put the lie to "silence"
... in commending the Times for giving him the honor he deserves (with special praise to Jon
Parales.)..and in adding my voice to the 849 others already on record in Pete's indelile memory.
•
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NYT Pick
Thomas Zaslavsky
is a trusted commenter Binghamton, N.Y. 21 days ago
We've lost a great man, but the eloquence of so many readers' tributes surpasses anything I've
ever seen in comments. That is a most fitting tribute to Pete.
•
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Steve Fankuchen
Pete Seeger taught us many things, among them that, though you would age (if you were
fortunate), you did not have to grow old.
No one, absolutely no one else has managed to stay relevant for so long, inspiring many
generations, humbly adapting with integrity along the way.
Abiyoyo is shedding tears and the Bells of Rhymney are tolling. However, as he taught us, for
everything there is a season, even our singing on without his omnipresent joy and inspiration,
now called upon to show our respect and appreciation for him and his work by continuing the fight
and the song without him.
•
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Bruce Olson
Houston 21 days ago
Doran, just what was it that you did not admire about the man?
Was it his concern for his fellow man, the environment, his ability to communicate, his ability to be
a critic of government policies and laws with which he disagreed, his open and objective interest
in other forms of government, his attitude about his rights to his own privacy, about his own
beliefs, the fact that he both served in the military when required and also opposed the debacle
that was the Vietnam War?
This ol Vietnam Vet found his music, his attitude and his example to be something to admire and
respect. The fact that he embraced a world view different from what yours obviously must be
should in no way detract from the recognition of the influence that he had and which most
Americans, regardless of their personal politics, recognized and respect.
As he so eloquently sang Woody Guthrie's words in his "weak tinny voice": "This land is your
land, this land is my land...".
That is really what he was all about and it is about as in line with the
American Dream as it can get.
•
In reply to Doron
•
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Burghardt
So sad, to hear his voice now, his songs. But at the same time one feels incredible hope, and
optimism, a shining light. The strength of his spirit will live on.
•
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Obbop
Ozark Plateau 21 days ago
Your music and life actions will be an inspiration for may decades to come.
•
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Jack Walsh
Lexington, MA 21 days ago
His work changed the values of two generations, who made America a much better place to be. I
must have missed the part when he America a worse place to be.
What have you done to improve America?
•
In reply to John D
•
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RagMag
peaceseeker
quantanamara wimoweh
we shall overcome someday
my dirty river little boxes movin' on
so long it’s been good to know you
where have all the flowers gone
goodnight irene john henry
deliah and old joe clark
performers parking lot
clearwater after dark
(written in 2010)
•
9Recommend
John Antrobus
New York City, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 21 days ago
In song and in spirit he persuaded us that justice for all was possible through love of our fellow
men and women. May his memory last forever.
•
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Frederick Johnson
Northern California 21 days ago
My heart is broken for your passing Pete, but my hear swells that you have touched my heart, for
more than 50 years. I will keep on singin', and keep on marchin' as you taught.
•
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cvconnell
He never grew old, never gave up. Here he is shown at age 90 singing "This Land Is Your Land"
with Bruce Springsteen on the snowy steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the concert on the eve of
the first Obama Inaugural (Jan. 19, 2009).
http://twitpic.com/dtobnu
•
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Dorothea
Halliday 21 days ago
I’m so grateful to Pete for all he did to make our world, our country, and me better—for his
activism, rectitude, courage, and music. His everlasting optimism in spite of all the evil in our land
was reassuring, and his music and decency were unstoppable forces for good. We were lucky to
have him for so long, and we’re going to miss him so much.
•
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Walter Lipman
Pawling NY 21 days ago
His agenda, Mr. Pareles, paralleled what needed to be done to keep this country moving forward.
Not right, not left, just what needed to be done. That's the way to remember this man, whose
death leaves us all quite diminished.
•
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Cyrus
NYC 21 days ago
If only we could all live lives so rich and meaningful...
•
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Paul King
USA 21 days ago
No one embodied or typified what it means to be fully American more than Pete. He lived as free
and conscious a life as anyone ever in this land.
My number one hero…I can't even bear to read the eulogy.
I pray there's a heaven so those who deserve it can one day be in a world that has Pete in it.
His example and legacy are here with us evermore.
•
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Myerscpa
Claremont CA 21 days ago
Pete had a great ear for principle finely played. What an example.
•
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Arthur
is a trusted commenter UWS 21 days ago
Pete Seeger's music has always been part of my adult life. I surely recall the controversy over
"Waist Deep in the Big Muddy," and the Smothers Brothers. Just weeks after that broadcast, LBJ
withdrew from the 1968 political contest. Decades ago, at a New York Labor Day Parade, he
joined my group of teachers for a memorable sing along.
A great American has passed. If one were to think only of his work to clean the Hudson, one
would have to acknowledge that he did more for this country than many in Washington.
•
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bigbhoff
Dallas, Tx 21 days ago
I met him once, I think in 1970, when I was a radio news reporter. The Clearwater had docked at
a landfill in Ossining, not far from the controversial PCB site on the Hudson River. Pete was
giving a tour of the boat to anyone who wanted to come aboard and a concert to raise money to
force GE to clean up the PCBs it had dumped in the Hudson River.
The boat was great, his songs were greater, but I what most remember was Pete Seeger's smile
and unbeatable enthusiasm. No one doubted that he was happy to be there, singing and fighting
for causes he believed in. A true American.
•
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J Clearfield
"champion of folk music" is such an over-simplification of who Pete Seeger was and his legacy.
He was a champion of human rights. He was a leader in the civil rights movement. It was his
singing (and sing-alongs) "We Shall Overcome" and "Down by the Riverside" and "If I had a
Hammer" that galvanized the strong community of social and political activism in the 60s and 70s.
He was larger than life - in reality - a man well under 6 feet and sleight. I walked behind him in a
march against one of these wars, just a few years ago, going in the direction of the UN. I loved
(and love) who he was and all that he cared so much about - til the end. Something so completely
genuine about him as a person, as a performer, as an activist. He will always live on in all of us
who share his compassion and passion for humanity.
•
9Recommend
NYT Pick
Michael S
is a trusted commenter Wappingers Falls, NY 21 days ago
I was raised on Peter Seeger's music and living near Beacon he was ubiquitous (indeed I first ran
into him at the University Settlement Camp in Beacon in the 1940s as a little kid from Brooklyn).
Nevertheless I have a great deal of difficulty with the fact the Seeger only broke with Stalin very
late in the game - long after Stalin's death and after the world fully understood that Stalin was a
murderous tyrant. I doubt that Pete Seeger was such a hero to the long suffering people of
Eastern Europe.
•
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willi wonka
clinton, ct 21 days ago
Thanks for all the goodness you showed us. Goodnight Pete, we all love ya.
•
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taopraxis
is a trusted commenter nyc 22 days ago
Highly principled men like that are still out there in America, today. Of that I have no doubt,
however invisible they may be.
Though too few people are making art or music inspired by love, a desire for peace, and a deep
respect for individual freedom within an ethical human society, I am certain that they are out
there.
Such people are rare, though...people with a good-natured, realistic disdain for convention who
blaze their own paths, rolling over narrow, conventional minds, whether superficially from the
political right or the political left.
Pete Seeger had a truly wonderful life...a beautiful example of a real American hero.
•
9Recommend
Bill King
Elizabeth, NJ 21 days ago
Tonight President Obama is giving his 6th State of the Union Speech it would be nice if he were
to mention Pete Seeger a true American Icon with a moment of silence.
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RMC
NYC 21 days ago
I have been Inspired by Pete Seger since I was a teenager. He stood up for social justice, and
understood the power of song to unite people in a common cause. He defied the McCarthyite
Congress that imprisoned people for standing up for freedom and their rights. He was a great
American, a true patriot and a wonderful human being. I sang "Good Night Irene" to my son when
he was a baby, taught him Woody's "This Land is Your Land" when he was 4 - and he has grown
up to be a progressive, ethical young man.
Thank you Pete. You will be greatly missed, but your legacy will live on in your songs and those
whom you've inspired. You are reunited with Toshi. Rest in peace.
•
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Thomas
Branford, Florida 22 days ago
What a wonderful life ! Thank you Pete. Rest in peace. We will all miss you, but we will keep
singing.
•
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andy upriver
dutchess county ny 22 days ago
Thank you for saving our river
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Randy Cunningham
Cleveland, Ohio 22 days ago
Everyone knew and remembered Pete. Who remembers those who hounded him through the
1950s? Very few, if any. Their names have disappeared from the collective memory. A fitting fate.
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totyson
Sheboygan, WI 22 days ago
So did the United States, Britain, and France when it was convenient in the 40s. Enough said?
Probably not. Just as with your facile evaluation of Mr. Seeger, it was really a much more
complex thing.
•
In reply to Amy
•
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Linsey
NYC 22 days ago
Pete's 90th BD concert was a spectacular tribute to him. His life was glorious. A lovely obit of an
amazing and humble man.
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Michael Keats
Jon, thank you for a beautiful report. We are all lucky Pete lived so long to teach so many
generations about what is good and decent in all of us. Pete made us all better people. There is
not a time in my life I cannot recall his music and words being there for me -- for all of us. We will
all miss you dearly, Pete. The world will always need your music.
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HL
Saratoga Springs, NY 22 days ago
Beautifully written obituary. Seeger was an exemplary human being.
R.I.P.
•
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Grandpa
Massachusetts 22 days ago
One of the truly great people of our time.
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Miriam
mirbergmag@yahoo.no 22 days ago
He was a great figure, his songs accompanied the struggle for human rights around the world.
Bless him, and good ride!
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Ymhos
Baltimore, MD 22 days ago
We all supported Stalin from 1941-5. It was an alternative to supporting Hitler. More broadly,
belonging to the Communist Party in the 1940s was an alternative to supporting capitalism, the
economic system that had brought us the Great Depression. In any case, the article says that he
had left the Party by 1950 and later criticized himself for not leaving sooner. True, he remained a
small "c" communist, but that was almost the opposite of supporting Stalin.
Enough said.
•
In reply to Amy
•
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ross
Vermont 22 days ago
George W. Bush was not a Communist and is responsible for untold death and destruction. It's
good to know, though, that he and Cheney both heeded Seeger's advice and stayed out of Viet
Nam.
•
In reply to Amy
•
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Roc Rizzo
Rosendale, NY 22 days ago
You forgot to mention that he QUIT the Communist Party in 1951, when he found out about what
Stalin had done.
So no, Pete did not support Stalin, only the thought that working together as a community is
better than working alone.
•
In reply to Amy
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ennisprof
new jersey 22 days ago
godspeed pete, you helped make the world a really good place. i loved you.
•
9Recommend
Susan Ross
Boulder, Colorado 22 days ago
Oh, Pete - we miss you already - we keep you in our hearts and promise to continue raising our
voices & honoring your great caring and stewardship...
•
9Recommend
Peter Marshall
Canberra, Australia 22 days ago
He wasn't just a great American; he was a great human being. I am just one of millions around
this world who have been inspired by Pete Seeger and his music.
•
In reply to Jim Arnold
•
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laura174
Toronto 22 days ago
I found myself singing 'Wimoweh' on Sunday, out of the blue. Oh Pete, you will be missed but
your spirit will never leave us. Rest in peace, you wonderful man.
•
9Recommend
Sandy
Chicago 22 days ago
Vaya con Dios, Pete--floating above us for all eternity on a magic carpet of peace, justice,
compassion and song.
•
9Recommend
MFeaver
Florida 20 days ago
I was a sheltered student from Hawaii when I first attended a Seeger concert at Reed College in
Portland, Oregon in the 50's. He sang songs of the Spanish Civil War, America's labor
movement, Civil Rights -- he opened my eyes to our history from which I had been insulated. As
my social consciousness grew and led me to activism: civil rights and civil liberties, anti-Vietnam
war, women's rights and the rights of workers to organize, Pete Seeger was always there with a
song. When I read about the Spanish Civil War, the rousing songs of the Lincoln Brigade from
Seeger's repertoire echoed. Similarly it was hard to forget when reading American history that
there was always in the background a "Joe Hill" or a "Union maid" or a prisoner singing
"Goodnight Irene". And in Albany, Georgia, the circle of binding hands singing "We Shall
Overcome" comforted my fear and gave me, for even a brief moment, some hope.
We have a shared history and he was a beacon.
•
8Recommend
Davidn
Nj 20 days ago
Tappan Seeger Bridge.
A fitting tribute to one of my lifelong heros.
8Recommend
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Ann
is a trusted commenter California 21 days ago
Pete Seeger was a man who could change the world with his voice, his spirit, and a banjo. I weep
when I listen to songs he wrote. Moved and grateful. May we continue to give life to your legacy,
Pete, and make it soar.
•
8Recommend
bk.cotten
NY 21 days ago
Our family feels fortunate to have met Pete. We shared some special happy
moments with him at the Clearwater Music Festival and recently at the Brook Farm Project in
New Paltz, New York. Our children love Pete's song We Shall Overcome and his story Abiyoyo.
Anyone felt at peace around him or when listening to his music. Lets keep his legacy alive and
honor him by naming the new Tappan Zee bridge after him! Your music, humility and optimism
will keep you alive in our hearts. Thank you!
•
8Recommend
Dana in NYC
Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.
Oh all the times I've listened, and all the times I've heard
All the melodies I'm missing, and all the magic words,
And all those potent voices, and the choices we had then,
How I'd love to find we had that kind of choice again.
And I feel that something's coming, and it's not just in the wind.
It's more than just tomorrow, it's more than where we've been,
It offers me a promise, it's telling me "Begin",
I know we're needing something worth believing in.
Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.
verses from the song "Remember When the Music"
by Harry Chapin with Pete Seeger in mind
•
8Recommend
Neil
Harlem 21 days ago
Hero!
8Recommend
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Cameron
Mpls MN 21 days ago
I met Pete briefly when I was a hotel desk clerk in Minneapolis and he arrived late in the evening
in 1988. He got off the airport shuttle and carried a small bag and his guitar. It was just the two of
us in the huge hotel lobby at 10:30 at night. I told him how much I loved his music and how he
was an inspiration to those of us in the progressive student movement, then working to stop CIA
recruiting on the University of Minnesota campus. I shook his hand over the desk and he carried
his bags to the elevator.
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Corey Fischer
SF Bay Area 21 days ago
I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Pete Seger. Between 1956 and 1962 I spent
almost every summer at the Idyllwild Arts Foundation ("ISOMATA ") in Southern California, a
multigenerational creative "summer camp." At a time when the blacklist was fully in force, that
place was one of the few that would hire Pete. He ran a two-week long folk music workshop there
for a number of years, bringing together most of the great traditional musicians of the time -people like Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry, Doc Watson, the New Lost City Ramblers and
many more. He introduced thousands of us to the vital heart of American culture. Knowing him
changed my life. May his memory be a blessing for all beings.
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Bill
Fairbanks Ranch, Ca 21 days ago
I always liked Pete Seeger. He was a lightning rod throughout his long and productive life. His
passing at the ripe old age of 94, after years of censorship and many ferocious struggles confirms
his view that it was indeed better to be red than dead. Goodnight Irene.
•
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Kenneth Ward
Las Cruces, NM 21 days ago
I remember Pete as song leader at a service held in the National Cathedral during the 1969
mobilization to protest U.S. Vietnam policy. There were about 3,000 people sitting and standing in
that cathedral. In Pete's unique song leading style, he encouraged us to sing "Where Have All the
Flowers Gone" in 3,000 part harmony. During the song, Pete himself must have sung 50 different
harmonic variations.
8Recommend
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GC
That is a nice thought, although somehow I think Joe and Pete are now in two entirely different
places...
RIP Pete Seeger, True American Hero!
•
In reply to mancuroc
•
8Recommend
Abby
Vancouver, Canada 21 days ago
I was 13 when I first heard Pete Seeger live in NYC.. He became one of the greatest influences
on my life. Two years later I was a "work camper" at University Settlement Camp in Beacon, NY.
Pete and his buddies sang for and with us on Tuesday nights, and taught us folk songs that still
inform my outlook. A dream of community, peace, justice, and love -- still out of reach but never
discarded. He is a shining example of a life well lived--of someone who walked the talk and was
as consistent as any human can be.
•
8Recommend
susan weiss
rockville, maryland 21 days ago
I am not quite old enough to have remembered his embrace of Stalin. This particular tunnel vision
infected many of his generation (including a cherished aunt of my husband's), who had terrible
difficulty reconciling their belief in a more communitarian ideal with the corrupt and corrosive
reality and cruel excesses of the USSR under Stalin. Despite this, Seeger was a hero who lived
his beliefs (fought in the Spanish Civil War against the fascists, etc.) and inspired many
generations of admirers who have shared his vision of a more gentle, inclusive, and equitable
society. Beside, we have grown up with and LOVED his music! RIP and continue to inspire!
•
In reply to Michael S
•
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Howard Kaplan
Belmont Ma 21 days ago
A huge loss. Peace, Pete
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tjsiii
Gainesville, FL 21 days ago
From everything I ever saw and heard of Mr. Seeger, he was one of American's most true and
courageous patriots. He gave me faith and will be sorely missed.
8Recommend
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Ellen
I like to think of Pete and Mandiba hanging out together in the afterworld.
8Recommend
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Susan Cook
Asheville, NC US 21 days ago
A world without Pete Seeger in it? Just won't feel the same. :'(
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John
Lafayette, IN 21 days ago
We invited Pete Seeger to perform at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, in the mid-1960s. The
John Birch Society and Young Republicans were up in arms. I helped serve as crowd control,
standing with my back against the stage should anyone try to rush it. I listened to the concert with
my back to the performer. It was one of the sweetest moments of my young life.
8Recommend
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friedman is a war monger
Albuquerque, New Mexico 21 days ago
We on the progressive side of the spectrum have such an enriching array of voices and talent to
promote the cause of peace and shared planet. Pete was the godfather of folkish soul and what
he spawned led to Bob dylan, Joan Baez and so many others who brought much to our lives. In
this regard he gave us riches that the right wingers will never experience. We have riches the
Bankers no nothing of. Pete made us wealthy.
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DCBinNYC
NYC 21 days ago
Had he kept Dylan unplugged at Newport all those years ago, my hearing might be better today!
A Hootenanny loyalty oath?!! Man, if that's not enough to radicalize you and force you to question
corporate interests!
RIP, Pete -- it's been good to know ya.
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MarSmith
Melrose 21 days ago
What a full, rich and creative life, lived with meaning and dignity - RIP.
8Recommend
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mw
Such a beautiful soul. I recall sitting at his feet as a young teen on the end of a pier at South
Street Seaport, when it still stank of fish, for one of his Clearwater concerts. Magical day.
Someone else compared him to Whitman -- a similar feel for nature and society and a great,
enduring American spirit.
Rest in peace, Pete.
•
8Recommend
artistcon3
That rarest of men whose art and life spoke with the same voice. If there's such a person as a
moral genius, Pete Seeger was that person. Listening to his music, attending his concerts, or
getting involved in the causes he belived in - all of these experiences made us better, clearer
minded people. He saw what was wrong and tried to right it; through song, activism and the
lifelong determined optimism of a man who believed in the best that this country could be. He is
irrecplaceable.
•
8Recommend
not that George W
Shaker Heights Ohio 21 days ago
In 1963, at Oberlin College, I attended a Pete Seeger Concert with family and friends. It closed
with singing We Shall Overcome, the audience standing, swaying with arms crossed and hands
clasped. We were seated near the front and with tears in my eyes (as I have now) I looked back
to the rows students and adults with their children, and saw hundreds more also crying with joy
and commitment to the civil rights movement and each other.
Thanks, Pete.
8Recommend
•
Larry
Gentle Readers, ponder how much different the world would be if there more of us like Pete
Seeger. It staggers the imagination to contemplate a time and place where people of such virtue
could thrive. That's where I wanna' live.
8Recommend
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jane
ny 21 days ago
Last Fall I was at a jam at the Boat House; Pete Seeger was there too. He remained quiet and
observant and seemed to enjoy the music. Then at one point he got up to say a few words and I
was struck by his presence. Despite his extreme advanced age he had profound energy and
charisma, and tremendous class. It just radiated from him.
8Recommend
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Bob Burke
Newton Highlands, MA 21 days ago
Pete Seeger was a true "patriot" in ways the term should be used, but seldom is.
8Recommend
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Tim
If I had a hammer.......I'd build him a great amphitheater, and power it with his sunny spirit.
•
8Recommend
Gretchen
Cold Spring, NY 21 days ago
What a loss. They don't make them like Pete Seeger anymore...modest and determined with
such talent. He walked the walk.
8Recommend
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Mark Thompson
Washington, D.C. 22 days ago
I cherished seeing Pete sing at the People's Bicentennial celebration on the eve of the 200th
anniversary of the "shot heard round the world" near Concord, Mass., one April night in 1975. His
zest for life, echoed in his music, was heartfelt and true. It served as a weather vane to guide the
better angels of our nature, despite the prevailing winds. Thanks Pete.
8Recommend
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Working Mama
is a trusted commenter New York City 22 days ago
Woke up in my big T shirt from the 90th birthday concert this morning before I heard the news. He
was a national treasure. So long, it's been good to know ya.
8Recommend
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FredJK
NY 22 days ago
He did the best thing anyone could ever hope for in life...he made the world a better place just by
being in it. His heart, passion and talent were used to advance causes that made this a better
place to live in. His legacy will live on despite his absence and that makes him immortal. We
could all learn something from his example.
8Recommend
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DCJ
Brookline, MA 22 days ago
When brought before HUAC Mr. Seeger offered to sing the songs mentioned by the congressmen
who questioned him and encouraged the destruction of his career. How I would love to hear the
Pete Seegers' of today sing to those members of Congress that advocate cuts in aid to the poor,
protecting the wealthy and well entrenched and controlling the private decisions of women.
So long, old friend, it's been good to know ya.
•
8Recommend
D. Annie
Illinois 22 days ago
We have lost a fine man. He would want us to pick up and carry on. He wanted us all to sing
along, not watch him perform alone. There is lots of work to be done. People are saying he saved
the world, but he would surely say that is not so. He would say there is work to be done and he
would pick up a hammer or an axe and he would begin. We can sing along, literally and
figuratively.
8Recommend
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Amy
Planning to be a journalist, Mr. Seeger attended Harvard, where he founded a radical newspaper
and joined the Young Communist League.
He, Millard Lampell and Mr. Hays founded the Almanac Singers, who performed union songs
and, until Germany invaded the Soviet Union, antiwar songs, following the Communist Party line.
Mr. Guthrie soon joined the group.
He was a Communist in the 1920s, 40s, and 50s. This means that he supported Stalin. --Enough said.
8Recommend
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Robert Green
The Hague 22 days ago
He was a wonderful man who embodied all that is good and fine about America. Sleep well. You
will live on in our memories.
•
In reply to Safe upon the solid rock
•
8Recommend
pjc
Cleveland 22 days ago
Good night, Pete, good night
•
8Recommend
Jacksaphone
Paonia, CO 20 days ago
I'm not one of these very fortunate souls who stumbled upon Pete Seeger by a pool at midnight
or while changing a baby's diaper in front of the Smithsonian, and were then spontaneously
serenaded in his grace and mission. But I have recognized for decades his devoted friendship to
all of mankind. He sought to demonstrate our mutuality, our native kinship, and his vehicle was
music. I can't stop crying upon learning of his death feeling the deep loss to all of us, his brothers
and sisters.
•
7Recommend
pghosh
calcutta 20 days ago
Hearing Pete Seeger in Calcutta?
Yes, we did. Abiyoyo, We shall overcome.
They are still in our ears and hearts.
Unforgettable!
7Recommend
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TerryO
What an amazing grace he was. How much we have overcome and how much more there is left
to do.
7Recommend
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norcalguy101
Arcata, CA 21 days ago
Several years ago I was fortunate to catch a show passing through a local venue billed as the
Washington Square Folk Festival consisting of Tom Paxton, John Hammond, the "baby brother"
Loudon Snowden Wainwright the 3rd, and Pete Seeger. Between songs Mr. Seeger explained
how his producer pleaded with him to stop writing protest songs. His response?: to Everything
There is a Season. As I once heard Nancy Griffith remarked, we need more Woody Guthries and
Pete Seegers in this world.
7Recommend
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Carole
Scotch Plains, NJ 21 days ago
And sing along .... tearing up probably.
•
In reply to Paul King
•
7Recommend
EDF
Pete Seeger is rightly remembered for his drive and passion to improve our world. He also should
be credited with having a strong voice of incredible raw beauty and consummate skills as an
instrumentalist.
7Recommend
•
PS
Massachusetts 21 days ago
What people write here about Seeger is true - he changed America, made many the wiser
through song, a fantastic act in and of itself. And as one wise person wrote, he is kin to Whitman;
so true, such a soldier for those who couldn't speak for themselves, or at least who couldn't find a
way to celebrate themselves, yet. It is painfully ironic that he, of all people, was called before the
Committee on Un-American Activities. How tragic that "Patriot Act Americans" (for lack of a better
term) hold truly practicing Americans, like Seeger and maybe Snowden, hostage via false
accusations.
But full picture, I also have to remember Dylan not returning to Newport for 37 years. Ah,
humanity.
•
7Recommend
S. Cebenoyan
I/we loved him dearly.
He made us better.
May he rest in Peace.
Thank you Pete Seeger.
•
7Recommend
TIZZYLISH
PARIS, FRANCE 21 days ago
wow..there goes my childhood....
•
7Recommend
Gene S
Hollis, NH 21 days ago
I met Mr. Seeger at the Woodstock Country School, in Woodstock, VT and--after it relocated due
to fire--in South Woodstock, VT. He came because he was friendly with David Bailey, the
Headmaster, and Buffy Dunker. I believe his daughter, Mika, attended WCS, but I don't recall her
as a fellow student. He performed at the school several times while I was there, from 1953-56. He
was always very forthright about his political views, and often reflected these views in his singing.
We all thought he was wonderful, but didn't appreciate--until many years later--just how wonderful
those contacts with him were.
•
7Recommend
Ivermarkt
Pasadena 21 days ago
In light of the Grammy's award I watched some of the other night, I pause to wonder when
reading this sad news about Pete Seeger the musician, just how someone like him can take the
medium of making music and use it in such a socially constructive fashion. He kept it pure and
simple, but at the same time used it powerfully - unlike so many of the acts I saw on TV the other
night, who just use it for making a lot of money.
•
7Recommend
April Kane
38'01'46.83N 78'28'37.70W 21 days ago
And they're still trying - think of the Koch brothers, Rush Limbaugh, etc.
•
In reply to unreceivedogma
•
7Recommend
Evelyn Powers
Bloomington, Indiana 21 days ago
Gosh, I was just thinking about him! I was meaning to mail the first printing of the book, "The
Weavers" to him to ask if he would be so kind to sign it aand return it. See what happens when
we wait too long to do things? I had the privilege of having a lovely telephone conversation with
Mr. Seeger. I was raising the money for "The Lotus Dickey Songbook" and since Mr. Dickey was
a contemporary of Mr. Seeger and that he knew him fairly well, Mr. Seeger was tickled to donate
some money in his name and his late wife's name to our project. The "Lotus Dickey Songbook"
sold out its first printing by the Indiana University Press, but, should you see a copy of a later
printing, you will see the names of the Seegers as donors to the Songbook. In addition, about ten
years ago or so, I was in a Goodwill store here in Bloomington and, to my surprise, I found a rare
recording (on cassette) of Mr. Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. I cherish it, of course! What can be said
about the Seegers that has not already been said? Humanitarians, yes. Environmentalists, yes.
Conservationists, yes. A musician extraordinaire, yes. How do I think Mr. Seeger would like to be
remembered? How about: "The Conscience of the Community of Peoples." "All" peoples. God
speed, Mr. Seeger. I'm sure you will greatly enjoy seeing your wife again!
•
7Recommend
lkg241
We've definitely lost a national treasure and a TRUE American patriot.
We need to keep on singing and teaching Pete Seeger's songs to the younger generations - our
children and grandchildren - so that his powerful legacy of protest song can continue, and so we
can all remember what it means to stand up for what you believe in!
•
7Recommend
Doug Broome
Vancouver 21 days ago
My mother ran an elite girls' summer camp in the Okanagan which I attended with three other
boys, and I brought my folk records. "If I Had A Hammer" used to bring tears to my eyes. (The
ultimate alienation, boys at a girls' camp, somehow got linked in my mind to the great civil rights
movement underway in the U.S. My father, a business executive and Tory politician, had a large
orchard and I expressed social solidarity by hanging out with the farm workers who I found wiser
people than the orchard owners.)
My first date, in 1964, was with a camp girl to a Pete Seeger concert at the Queen Elizabeth
Theatre. Some privileges of upper class life were irresistible, like free tickets to all events at the
QE Theatre and Playhouse because my dad was on the board.)
I did cross the line that year by borrowing the Mercedes to deliver literature for the socialist
candidate while my dad was running for the Tories.
You took class struggle where you could, even if it was family struggle. (Canadian Tories of the
day were well to the left of Obama now.)
To me, Seeger and Robeson were gods of a movement to remember the outcast, and bring them
to the forefront.
It was all so idealistic, and so profoundly just, that I renounced wealth and dedicated myself to
helping the poor. Sadly, in the intervening decades, the poor have become ever more
marginalized.
But the songs of Peter and Woody and Paul keep hope alive, ever calling out for justice for all.
Pete Seeger, like Joe Hill, will never die.
•
7Recommend
Gerald Moran
Jacksonville, Florida 21 days ago
Mr. Seeger was so unique and possessed so much integrity he stands alone. We all have our
personal recollections of his artistry and benefit even today from the natural poetry that flowed in
his veins. Without ever having met him personally, I feel deeply of having lost a dear and close
friend.
•
7Recommend
Notafan
NJ 21 days ago
When Pete Seeger lined out a song, you had to sing even if you could not carry the tune and
suddenly you could.
No one could make you believe like Pete Seeger.
Every song he sang transported us to a better world.
Who will do that now?
•
7Recommend
Mike Carpenter
Tucson, AZ 21 days ago
It was our honor to attend his concert several years ago in the Tucson High School Gymnasium,
an entirely fitting venue although the acoustics were, of course, hideous. No matter, it was a singalong, as usual.
He lived a life of righteousness and principle that shames Hoover, McCarthy, and the Kochs. I'm
afraid it's a losing cause. The right wing is phenomenally evil.
You showed us the way, Pete. We'll do our best. We love you.
•
7Recommend
wademg
NC 21 days ago
I had hoped that Pete Seeger would simply live forever, or at least for all of my life. He was an
inspiration, the kind of person who made the word "American" a good name in a time when so
many of wealth, power and influence did not, and do not. Many of us love his songs, especially
for their lyrics, but I think that the words which will stay with me longest were the ones which he
politely but defiantly uttered to that HUAC committee of segregationists and self-styled patriots,
the ones about an American citizens right to freedom of thought and conscience, and freedom
from compulsion by the legions of the intolerant, even when cloaked in the mantle of authority,
perhaps especially when so clothed. And what a worthy, and worthwhile, life, one far more
substantial and giving than the lives of most of the erstwhile leaders, private and public, the
patriotutes who have sold out the Republic. He spoke, and lived, for tolerance and kindness and
respect for all living things. He won't get it, of course, but Pete Seeger deserves enduring
recognition as one of the greatest citizens that the United States has ever produced because he
embodied the very best of what it once meant to be an American. Perhaps the greatest tribute
would be for his admirers to do all in their power to carry on his legacy as their lights and abilities
allow.
•
7Recommend
dr. bob solomon
21 days ago
John D., tying Seeger to the Holocaust? Please.
During the Depression, when capitalism had failed, what was one to support? Well, socialism was
moribund. Communism appealed to millions. Then in WWII every Hollywood studio and many a
newspaper swallowed hard and showed us a strange but powerful ally, nicknamed by us as
"Uncle Joe", without whose millions of sacrificed soldiers and millions of communized workers,
WWII might have been lost -- or millions of Americans needed to fight for years longer. As
Churchill said, "I'd make a pact with the Devil if it would help me defeat Hitler". It's something
called history, not ideology -- reality not dreams. Watch the WWII movies, read the novels and
poems and plays, look at the sources. Stalin was a Devil, indeed, but definitely not THE Devil.
And Seeger was neither.
•
In reply to John D
•
7Recommend
RJ
Tucson 21 days ago
Thanks Pete for all the energy and showing us a path through, you are one of humankind's great
ancestors.
7Recommend
•
Karen Schulte
What will this world be like without Pete Seeger! I learned his songs in
my childhood and they are a prime influence in my life. His music and hulmanity live on.
7Recommend
•
Irieites
MA 21 days ago
Thank you, Pete.
7Recommend
•
Steve I Am
Centennial, Colorado 21 days ago
Flags will be flown at half-staff all along the banks of the Yankety Yank . . . in honor of a long life,
well-lived.
7Recommend
•
John Thompson
Two Rivers, WI 21 days ago
We're going to miss you Pete. You were with us here in Wisconsin and your spirit and music will
continue to inspire the winds of non-violent civil disobedience when they must. Keep hope alive!
7Recommend
•
Lou Good
Page, AZ 21 days ago
I was very lucky to have been at the launching of the Clearwater at the boatyard in Maine on a
beautiful spring day in 1969. I was 14 and was really struck by Seeger's unabashed enthusiasm
and optimism. "We can do this, we can clean up the Hudson and America's other rivers as well!
And sing! C'mon, let's do this together! Everybody!"
I've never forgotten that day and the man. He inspired people and I was one of them.
7Recommend
•
Wally
LI 21 days ago
We need people like Pete to remind us what is important in our lives and in our country. Pete,
sorry you are gone. Rest in Peace.
7Recommend
•
Yellowdog Democrat
Texas 21 days ago
Thanks for everything, Pete. For being a good man. For being a good citizen. For being a good
Earthling. It won't be quite the same without you.
7Recommend
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EdBx
Bronx, NY 21 days ago
I am so grateful for the joy and meaning Pete brought to me and to so many others. Thank you,
Pete, thank you.
7Recommend
•
awhelm
Barton, VT/Saint Petersburg, FL 21 days ago
Somehow knowing Pete was out there singing helped many progressives keep working to
advance social and environmental justice. How grateful I am for his true heroism and shining
example. His is a voice that will not be stilled.
7Recommend
•
msbrewmont
Darien, CT 21 days ago
Beautiful memorial to a giant of a man, but it inexplicably neglects to mention that Pete had
another brother, John, who pre-deceased him in 2010 at the age of 95. John and his wife Ellie for
50 years ran a wonderful residential summer camp up in Vermont, Camp Killooleet, today run by
John's daughter and Pete's niece, Kate Seeger (also a singer, naturally) and her husband Dean
Spencer. Pete and his sister Peggy were frequent guests and visitors at camp and, as will
surprise no one, had a huge impact on all who met them, including my son, who was a camper
there for many years, and is now a counselor. I remember when my son met Pete at John's
memorial that he was outraged that so few of his (then) high school peers - many serious
musicians - had never heard of Pete. He has been beating the drum for Pete since, as we all
should, to ensure this and future generations know this iconic man and the values he represents
and fought for. Not to mention that incredible banjo!!
7Recommend
•
didi
Maine 21 days ago
In May 2009, when Pete turned 90, my friend Laura & I decided to travel from Maine to the
Clearwater Festival. We camped & wandered the festival grounds, often coming upon Pete,
strolling along, banjo slung on his shoulder. It was a memorable time for us both!
My 2 daughters went to sleep each night to Pete's singing. "Turn, turn, turn" was an especial
favorite of us all. I remember the sobbing little voice of Jenny, saying "I want to hear 'Turn, turn,
turn.' " It took her father & me a few minutes to hear her, in her bedroom upstairs.
•
7Recommend
Barbara
ITHACA 21 days ago
Always an inspiration
•
7Recommend
David Chowes
One of the truly courageous and caring persons of the 20th Century. I was first exposed to his
music during my childhood when he performed with The Weavers on the Ed Sullivan Show in the
early 1950s. Then during the McCarthy period he was blacklisted and he and his group was
barred from TV and radio.
So, he and they travelled to colleges and similar venues. During the mid-fifties, a concert was
held at Carnegie Hall and was recorded on Vanguard records -- and Seeger was back -- though
TV appearances were rare.
As part of the Weavers, his music was infectious and almost always carried social themes and
lessons. (I have played some of his LPs so often -- they had to be replaced.)
He followed the path that Woody Guthrie began and his concerns were for "the folks." From union
rights tp... the McCarthy era... Civil rights... to the Vietnam War... the Gulf Wars... Occupy Wall
Street.. the environment as he cleaned up the Hudson River...
The most memorial concert I have ever attended was the final one that the Weavers performed in
during the early 1980s. A film was made which documented the concert and the preparation for it:
WASN'T THAT A TIME. (Available on DVD and CD.)
I had the opportunity to meet him years ago. Bit, didn't. So, I have learned that use opportunities
when they become available for soon it may be too late.
Singer, musician, activist, forthright and willing to take personal risks for what he believed was
right. He was a mensch!
Everything.. turn.. turn..
•
7Recommend
Hans Christian Brando
"Where have all the flowers gone?" indeed.
Goodbye, Pete Seeger, and thank you.
•
7Recommend
Valerie Golembiewski
Tucson, AZ 21 days ago
When we lived in Hopewell Junction, NY, in the 1970s, we would often drive to Beacon to visit
friends. One time, we were walking along the shore of the Hudson River, admiring a long canoe
that was being hollowed out. A man with a beard came up to us and started a conversation about
the canoe, the river, the environment and life in general. We spent about a half hour with him, and
left his presence feeling calm and enriched. On the way home, it dawned on us that it was Pete
Seeger. It was an awesome experience, never to be forgotten. God bless you, Mr. Seeger. Rest
in peace. The world is better off for having known you.
•
7Recommend
Becca
Florida 21 days ago
It was impossible to not love this man. He was a light to the world, and a beacon for all of
humanity. He was, is, and will always be the voice of justice, freedom, equality, and love. Thank
you, Dear Mr. Seeger, for your joyful presence on this earth. You will forever be an American
treasure. My heartfelt sympathy to your family and friends.
•
7Recommend
Dadof2
Pete Seeger was always part of my life. He was the least "celebrity" of celebrities--anyone could
walk up to him and start talking like an old friend. So many have listed the extraordinary aspects
of his life that I want to point out a slightly different one. Pete actually made his extraordinary life
seem ordinary. He LIVED the American Dream. He worked hard, bought an idyllic piece of land,
built his own house on it with his own hands, loved and married one woman and raised 3 children
with her, and worked at what he loved. He didn't get caught up in stardom, wasn't much of a
drinker and truly believed his dictum: "A man my age should get out of breath once a day." He
made his highly abnormal life seem, well, normal! He was tougher and more stubborn in his
personal life than his persona, and far more exacting in how his instruments were made behind
the scenes than we know (his guitars were all hand-made by a luthier to his unique specifications-it always looked like the same guitar but he had many). But he truly, genuinely liked people, not
just "mankind". Though Pete would laugh at the idea, he was a true American Hero.
•
7Recommend
Baldemar Velasquez
Toledo, Ohio 21 days ago
Good bye my friend, thanks for all that you did for the farm workers and all the exploited workers
and people of the world. I will tell my grandchildren of our times together and enshrine your
legacy through continued singing and action for social justice! Pete Seeger, PRESENTE!
•
7Recommend
Bob Burns
Oregon's Willamette Valley 21 days ago
Somewhere in the early 1950's when I was under 10 years old, my mother brought home a 45
rpm record to play on our brand new record player. As I recall, on one side was "Tzena, Tzena"
and on the other was Good Night Irene" with The Weavers. 60 years later I can still sing those
marvelous lyrics to both songs. I was too young to know of Seeger's problems with Congress and
his blacklisting but in high school and college I came to understand how people like Pete Seeger
were railroaded into obscurity simply because of their beliefs. It was then that the old phrase
"Question authority" started to mean something to my young self.
Pete Seeger was an authentic man in every way. There wasn't a hint of self-interest in anything
he ever did. We've lost a great American. May he rest in eternal peace.
7Recommend
•
Kate
I think the following quotation in this article says it all:
“I feel that in my whole life I have never done anything of any conspiratorial nature.” He also
stated: “I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or
religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private
such compulsion as this.”
•
7Recommend
Anetliner Netliner
is a trusted commenter Washington, DC area 22 days ago
Pete Seeger was timeless. A wise elder.
May he rest in peace.
•
7Recommend
bill sussex
Sussex NJ 21 days ago
Thank you Pete !!! And a special thank you to the editor at the NY Times who put this Front Page.
Peter was and is a piece of the America we love. He changed us all for the better and kept the
spotlight on the path for us.
7Recommend
•
RP
Colorado 21 days ago
Kindness, courage, conviction, tenacity. A truly great man. I've often dreamed he was my father.
In a way, he's been a spiritual father to all of us. RIP
7Recommend
•
Ray McKenzie
Pete is a true American Hero. The world will miss him dearly.
Thank you Pete!
7Recommend
•
Ray
Montana 21 days ago
Last month, Nelson Mandela. This month, Pete Seeger (who was every bit Mandela's equal).
Without them we must each work harder to overcome all the human race has lost.
I had the opportunity to meet and play music with Pete a handfull of times 10 years ago in
Beacon. After meetings of the Clearwater Sloop Club, beside the roaring fireplace, we would set
up chairs in a circle and pass the microphone around, each playing one song. Once, by request,
Pete played "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and everyone joined in and played/sang along. I
was sitting next to him and got the microphone next. I played some song that I wrote and
remember how awed I was to look to my right and see Pete Seeger playing along with me. Wow.
7Recommend
•
Carlitos
Lyman, SC 21 days ago
Light a candle. A big one. A very colorful one.
7Recommend
•
drumdaddy
Pete, peace and love from your friends in Woodland Valley. One day we'll get out of the big
muddies. We won't quit, you didn't.
7Recommend
•
dilkie
ottawa 21 days ago
No Amy.. It means he *might* have supported communism. It says absolutely *nothing* about his
support for *s single* communism leader. Any more than your support for democracy reflects on
your support for the current president Obama or, in fact, your support for all previous presidents.
And it's considered bad manners to make accusions on someone who can no longer respond. --Enough said.
•
In reply to Amy
•
7Recommend
Rich
Mr. Seeger,
Thank you.
You'll always hit the right note.
•
7Recommend
dwsingrs8
Perdition, NC 21 days ago
Well, that's true enough. He is quoted somewhere to the effect that in the beginning he thought
that Stalin was simply a "hard driver," not the monster he (perhaps not) soon enough proved
himself to be.
To the extent that the U.S. civil rights movement may have had Communist connections and
sympathies, as determined by that admirable soul J. Edgar Hoover, perhaps those connections
could have been at least minimized if not eliminated had good pious Southern Christian
segregationists (and of course certain other noble Amuricuns throughout the country) not inflicted
horrors on African Americans, including lynchings, a favorite photo postcard entertainment, which
hardly well-positioned the U.S. to lecture other countries about their human rights violations.
•
In reply to A. Stanton
•
7Recommend
Jon Weisberg
Salt Lake City 22 days ago
A great citizen of the world and one of America's most effective cultural ambassadors. I met Pete
once or twice and heard him in concert many times. He'll be missed.
•
7Recommend
gloria_belknap
france 22 days ago
To me, he was our conscience..He put into our minds and hearts, thru song, the things we should
be concerned about and believe in.. A unique American, that was the best of us...A gentle giant in
all ways..Rest well and thank you
•
7Recommend
David
Katonah, NY 22 days ago
A legend like no other. He will be sorely missed by the world and by me personally. I am lucky to
have seen him perform many, many times over the years, but it wasn't just his music. It was how
he lived his life, how he treated everyone else, and the example he provided for all of us. I am so
sad right now. RIP Pete.
7Recommend
•
Jeanie
NYC 22 days ago
Thank you, Pete, for all you gave us. Your heart was in your songs, your soul embodied all that is
right in the world. Your light will burn bright for a very long time. Say hi to Mr. Mandela up there in
the bright sky. We will miss both of you but we won't ever forget.
The best thing any of us can say to you is, again, THANK YOU!
7Recommend
•
Philo
That's exactly what I remember about his banjo. Rest easy, Pete.
•
In reply to John
•
7Recommend
Suzanna
Oregon 22 days ago
When I learned how to play guitar when I was sixteen, it was your songs I played. Thank you,
thank you, thank you, I am sad, I will miss you, but how can I keep from singing?
7Recommend
•
BB
Europe 22 days ago
Pete Seeger was an inspiration - let's hope there is a revival of his music and his messages, the
world could use a bit of that. I grew up on his music, seeing him perform as a child, singing We
Shall Overcome at camp in the late 60s, and playing his music to my children. He will always
remain an inspiration.
•

PDF Form. - Remembering Pete Seeger

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