Henscratches and Flyspecks

Henscratches and Flyspecks

"I want to persuade the rest of the Weavers that we should send some money to the Irish folk song archives for the song “Kisses Sweeter than Wine.” It’s an old Irish song: [sings]“Mush-a sweeter than thou.” It was a song about a dead cow. This Irish artist sang it to Leadbelly, and Leadbelly started singing it, but he put an African rhythm to it. And along comes Lee Hays and puts words to it, and it’s still being sung after all these decades. I sing it at every wedding I’m at."

"You can only laugh if you don’t cry. The rich are getting richer and the poor are being left behind the eight ball and getting more and more angry. I don’t think there will be a human race here in 100 years unless the rich countries realize it’s in everybody’s interest that everybody in the world have a job and be decently fed and clothed."
http://acousticguitar.com/happy-birthday-pete-seeger-watch-him-perform-if-i-had-a-hammer-in-1956-read-an-in-depth-qa-from-the-archives/

Comments

  1. Richard BensamMay 6, 2016 at 10:30 AM

    I think about this guy all the time. Came across another mark of his legacy the other day in a most unlikely place: it turns out that Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd learned to play guitar and sing by playing and singing along with an instructional book and record set by Pete that was purchased by Gilmour's parents in Greenwich Village. I would never have spotted any hint of Pete Seeger in Floyd or Gilmour, but it just goes to show that what we hear in a musician's work may not reveal where their inspiration comes from. And thinking about all the artists subsequently influenced by Pink Floyd, this means they all owe a debt to Pete as well...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tim O'BrienMay 6, 2016 at 11:36 AM

    Every Labor Day I ask a young person if they know who Pete Seeger is. The answer usually makes me want to cry.

    ReplyDelete

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