Pete Seeger

[malaise]

Damn!!! What a concert!!!

sp

[eleny]

1. ...

:cry:

[Cetacea]

59. Please sign petition for a Secretary Of The Arts here. Thanks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4855280

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Tears

This song should be the national song.

[Hanse]

3. Will they do the socialist verses?

[Hanse]

8. Yes. Yes they did.

[malaise]

48. Seeger would not have performed with restrictions

That was way cool

[bobbolink]

24. these verses?

Was a big high wall there, that tried to stop me.
Was a great big sign that said Private Property.
But on the other side, it didn't say nothin'.
That side was made for you and me.

One bright sunny morning, in the shadow of the steeple.
By the relief office, I saw my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there wondering, if
This land was made for you and me.

[eShirl]

33. yes, that's what they sang

[slampoet]

55. They also included this last stanza.

Nobody living can ever stop me
As I go walking
That freedom highway
Nobody living can make me turn back
This land was made for you and me


This last verse is so uncommon that some music sites don't include it but DO include the private property verse.

[babylonsister]

4. And the song!

Beautiful! I just told my DH PS was on. He asked me who that was. :eyes:

[spanone]

5. unfreakin'believable !!!!!!!!! seeger

[malaise]

18. Too good!

Way too good. :grouphug:

[hlthe2b]

6. SOBBING, NOW!

Oh, My!

[Generic Other]

13. Me too

Pete Seeger being up there means so much!!!!

[hlthe2b]

20. This is absolutely a "baby boomer's" dream....

;) all the hope, defiance, determination of the 60s coming back, in spades....

[malaise]

21. Bawling

Beyonce was the last straw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :Cry: :cry:
America we all won!!

[Sebastian Doyle]

7. Previous occupants of the White House wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near that guy

Some of them no doubt literally branded him a "communist" :(

[kestrel91316]

9. Seeger and Springsteen. Who's the third guy?

[Delphinus]

23. I think it's his nephew.,

It was hard to hear, but I think that's what Bruce said.

[malaise]

42. Yep

It was his nephew.

[hlthe2b]

62. grandson eom

[dsc]

10. I had no idea how old he is

born in 1919 making him 89. I was going to comment on how bad he looked until I looked up his age, now I must say he looks rather well.

[Sebastian Doyle]

30. He looks at least as healthy as Keith Richards

and sings better. :evilgrin:

[dsc]

46. but I figured he was likely Keith's age (around 65) instead of pushing 90

He would have looked bad for a recent retiree but he looks fantastic for a near centurian.

[Oak2004]

I'm imagining a lot of rabid right wingers right now muttering "commies!"

as their heads explode.

:)

[barbtries]

11. it was great

i blubbered half the way through it. never watch concerts on the tube, but i did love this one. yeah history.

[johnfunk]

12. This just in: FReeper accidentally tunes in HBO when Seeger sings...

Seeger, Will.I.Am, U2, and the rest have exorcised Washington!

[cynatnite]

14. That was great! n/t

[Radical Activist]

15. a blacklisted communist is singing the missing verses to the alternative national anthem

at a presidential inauguration. holy fucking shit.

[Generic Other]

19. No one in America more deserving of the honor of leading us in this song!

I was in shock, tears streaming. And I am not usually such a sentimental person.

[watrwefitinfor]

60. I am so happy he lived to see this, let alone participate!

Hell, I am so happy *I* lived to see this.

Well, can't actually see it, no cable, but just reading ya'll describing it takes me back to the one time I met him and saw him in concert, back in the day, about 1970. Height of the Vietnam excitement and all that. Damn, he had the whole place stirred up. Pete could get people stirred up singing Kum-baya. I do love that man.

Wat

[Stephanie]

22. what are the missing verses?

First I heard of this, thanks

[Hanse]

25. Post #24.

Guthrie wrote over 100 versus for the song. But those are the traditional verses and they've long been censored out of the song.

[Generic Other]

26. these are usually left out of most versions of the song

As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

[Stephanie]

29. huh

We never knew about those verses in grade school when we were constantly singing this in music class. That's fascinating.

[Radical Activist]

35. A link about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_land_is_your_land#Confirmation_of_two_other_verses

They're just a little more socialist than the rest of the song. The fact that they were played today at the inauguration is historic. We're really entering a new period of American history.

[Stephanie]

41. thanks!

:hi:

[Radical Activist]

53. No problem.

I've only heard real lefties play this version a few times until now. I never thought I'd see it at an event like this.

[John Q. Citizen]

39. I didn't see it (no cable) but just hearing about it makes me happy.

[Radical Activist]

58. I watched it online

If you have net access they'll air it again later at hbo.com

[johnfunk]

40. Seeger was blacklisted, Copland was threatened...

... by Joe Mccarthy's stooges.

It's now known that Copland got all up in Roy Cohn's face and a few other McCarthy staffers during a meeting around McCarthy's committee show trials. They left him alone. It's been rumored for decades that Copland, who was a shrewd business negotiator and extremely well-connected in media and political circles, threatened -- either directly or through his own network of business, press and artistic contacts -- to out not only himself as gay but J. Edgar Hoover and Cohn, naming names of their partners.

It was great to hear Copland and Guthrie and see Pete Seeger, in his 90s (going on early 40s -- he looked great).

[Radical Activist]

50. I didn't know that.

Thanks for posting. In many ways I feel like the generation of the left before me has been living in the shadow of the cold war, always scared to publicly say what they really believe and always pretending to not be as far left as they really are. I hope that after today we can put that red scare mentality behind us. We live in a new reality.

[Libertyfirst]

51. Yes.

[enough]

52. Exactly. I keep telling myself "it's just symbolic," but man what a symbol!

[Radical Activist]

54. What I've wanted most from Obama from the start

is for him to create an environment where left wing people's movements can grow without undue interference from government and corporate power. That's all it will take for real change to happen. Seeing this concert...I really think it's going to happen.

[cletustakethewheel]

Pete Seeger is gonna be 90 in May!!!! OMG!! I remember singing this song

in music class in the 70s (elementary school)! Unbelievable!

(And he's wearing a hippie hat! How awsome is that?)

[Blue Diadem]

27. I remember singing it in school too. We weren't allowed to sing

the last lyrics but it sure was great to hear them sung today.

[adadem]

38. He was awesome! n/t

[hlthe2b]

63. Pete Seeger is the GodFather of fok, but this is Woody Guthrie

composed song... Seeger made it popular, but don't forget Woody--he is one of our beloved progressive ancestors that deserves his due.

[MagickMuffin]

64. I was going to post about this being a Woody Guthrie song

Woody Guthrie wrote over 1300 songs:wow:



A link to his archives

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/archives/archivesindex.htm

A link to his song lyrics.

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Lyrics.htm


I'm so glad they sang this song today, as it is one of my favorite songs about America.:applause:

[Siwsan]

16. I'm becomming dehydrated!

This has been the best afternoon! I'm about to go into happiness-overload. Next,to C-Span to watch the Obama Nation Progressive Radio show.

[malaise]

31. Happiness overload

is the perfect phrase.

[kestrel91316]

17. OMG, he's 89 and he RAN off the stage!!!!!

[cynatnite]

37. He was like a little kid! n/t

[asdjrocky]

28. I was waiting and waiting for that song.

I knew they'd do it eventually, and it was a double treat to see Pete.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

32. I consider him the coolest person I ever met in my life. Seeing him there

had me in tears. To think that he was blacklisted for years from the mainstream and here he was!!!

[Radical Activist]

43. Meeting him and hearing him play is still one of the best memories

of my life. He's one of those guys who shows that you can be as far left as you want without being dragged down by cynicism and negativity.

[tomg]

34. Last year in New York

at an anti-war demonstration, it was miserable, wet, cold. I'm marching along the street thinking "I am too old for this." I turn the corner, and up on the stage singing away is Pete Seeger. He is 30 years older than me. Whether it is at a rally before 100,000s or at a small demonstration in Newburgh, New York with maybe fifty-sixty people, Pete Seeger is always there.

[lamp_shade]

36. HE WAS SO HAPPY!!! Yea... I cried too.

[ellie]

44. I am going

to see Pete Seeger at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival at the end of the month!

[spanone]

45. pete has seen it all.....god bless pete seeger!!!!!!!

:hi: :thumbsup:

[Jeanette in FL]

47. Awesome concert

My construction crew is there at the concert. We are starting a job in Fairfax, VA on Monday, so I got them up there on Saturday. Today they went over to DC to see the concert. I am so glad that they are getting to witness this historical time. They are over the top with excitement. They were trying to talk to me on their Nextels, but it was difficult to hear with all the crowd.

I wish I was with them, I am stuck in Florida for the week.

I feel so hopeful for this country once again and singing along with Pete Seeger in my Living Room with tears streaming down my face was exhilarating.

[malaise]

49. How lovely for them

And yes the concert was excellent - perfect tone.

[madamesilverspurs]

56. No HBO.

Will Seeger be up on YouTube?

[Radical Activist]

57. Not yet that I can find.

But I hope he'll be up soon.

[no_hypocrisy]

61. I wish Woody, Will Gere, and Lee Hays were here to see this.

[gratuitous]

65. Nice of him to share the stage with that young feller

Seems nice enough. Bruce Somebody.