Farewell to a Good Man

I feel that my whole life is a contribution.
            Pete Seeger

From the moment I was exposed to political philosophy, I embraced a conservative paradigm.  From the moment I was first enraptured by music, my tastes gravitated toward the melodies that filled my home.  Over the years, more than a few people have made comments that my political leanings are at odds with the music that makes me happy.  I don’t apologize for this because, like most thinking at its best, who and what I am is not black and white or easily definable.  My opinions are not to be labeled by anyone.  It is for this reason that, this past week, I was sad and pained at the passing of legendary singer and activist Pete Seeger.     

My mother weaned me on country music and while it did not take, I found the stories and the history of the older songs compelling.  Mr. Seeger was equally compelling in his stories of the downtrodden and the forgotten ones.  He sang songs about and to those who existed on the outskirts of this country’s blessings.  In doing so, he provided a voice for those who previously had none.  His songs brought their plight to listeners who had no first-hand experience.  As a part of my political and musical education, I came to understand what it meant to exist in poor, rural regions or suffer the cruel hand of oppression. Songs like “We Shall Overcome”, “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” and his many renditions of traditional American music have highlighted the plight of those subject to forces beyond their control.  

Beyond the music that highlighted the troubles of many Americans, Pete Seeger displayed a courage seldom seen in our more modern activists.  He joined those who were being hunted down and killed simply for being black or transient.  He sang for them, in front of them.  He was not content to simply allow his words to pour into microphones and emanate from studios and vinyl.  Mr. Seeger traveled the country and listened to the troubles of others.  He sat with the black man, the migrant farm worker, the Native American and the Vietnam veteran.  He listened to what they had to say and in return, he gave them kindness, a sympathetic ear and his time.  His personal courage allowed him to see what was truly happening in this country and craft tunes that changed generations.  

For Pete Seeger, a champion of folk music though he bristled at the moniker, he felt his music was for everyone and much of his career was spent in tiny halls, living rooms and children summer camps.  His love of singing was matched by his desire for others to sing with him and his time performing for and with children consisted of his greatest moments.  “If you sing for children, you can’t really say there’s no hope.”  According to PBS’s American Masters, he said that some of his songs were deemed innocuous enough but masterpieces like “This Land is Your Land” and others carried its own message and became standards in the process.   

If there is a part of his life and his message that struck the greatest discordant note with my beliefs, it was his stance on war and communism.  I’m not a pacifist and I don’t hold with communism.  To that end, some of his Vietnam songs and his visit to North Vietnam as well as his dalliances with communism in the 1940s struck me more naïveté – a child-like perception of how the world works.  He described leaving the communist party based on revelations about Josef Stalin but attributed benevolent intentions on the part of the North Vietnamese.  This though their rule was marked by re-education camps, torture and murder.  While utopic, I still marvel at his dedication and willingness to throw himself into the fire.  Seldom do people have the courage of their convictions and Pete Seeger was one and worthy of admiration.  

I love listening to his voice.  His rendition of “Guantanamera” and his original “Turn, Turn, Turn” fill me with emotion.  He was part of an education that included the works of Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, the Kingston Trio and the Chieftains.  The story of ordinary people and the hardships they faced and joys they treasured are a doorway to another time and people like Pete Seeger made that story accessible.  Agree with him or not, he was a man of convictions who did not stray but held the line.  He wrote and sung the words of generations of people.  Sadly, no one today can match his eloquence and his passion.  He contributed and he will be missed.