Pete Seeger – An Occasional Story or Magazine

Golden Thread

Here’s to Pete Seeger, who died in 2014, may he rest in peace. Pete Seeger was an inspiration to me and to millions of others all over the world. Now, I can’t say that I’ve been inspired by too many people in my life. I’m not an easy guy to inspire. But Pete did it for me. His example encouraged me to play guitar and to sing, he got me into folk music. All of my appreciation of music comes from that – which I would say is quite a treasure. I still cherish his memory – as well as his songs, which we continue to play. So, Pete lives on. Here’s Oh, Had I a Golden Thread, which we did the other night before the quarantine started.

It’s one of the most optimistic songs I know.

Here’s to Pete!

Pete Seeger, the late, great singer and icon of American and world folk music was an inspiration to me and to millions of folks around the globe. We’ve spoken about Pete before, so I won’t start singing his praises yet again. But I will sing two songs for Pete. And, naturally, we’re hoping you’ll sing along. First, here’s

Oh Had I A Golden Thread, a song Pete wrote and used as his theme song on that 1960’s TV show he did for Public TV, and which encapsulates his mission and idealistic spirit.

And then, here’s John Henry, the traditional blues song that Pete said was his favorite song to play.

The story of John Henry is a magnificent one. Like all folk legends, it is rooted very loosely in fact. Since it tells of a man, a powerful African American working man, who stood up to the system, who heroically challenged the machine (and won!), the song still rings true today. Just like John Henry’s hammer.

P.S. I just saw a fine post on Pete Seeger. H re is the link

Oh Had I a Golden Thread

For reasons unclear to me this post of Oh Had I a Golden Thread gets tons of hits. No comments or likes, but lots of hits. Since it’s such a big “hit”, I re-recorded it yesterday with new strings on my guitar. It’s the great Pete Seeger’s song. Long live Pete’s legacy. And “keep playin’ that country music”.

Pete Seeger, a Golden Thread

Pete Seeger died two years ago. We still play his songs of course. He left us so many good ones – as well as the memory of a very noble soul and beautiful spirit. What with all the mess and carnage in the headlines it’s hard to talk about peace. Our political leaders do not talk about peace or about working toward it. Peace is off the table. The War on Terror appears to be a permanent situation. The political institutions of the nations of the world are often dysfuncional – which also leads to more wars and killing. We become accustomed to wars, fear and insecurity. It seems we are miles away from reaching peace. But Pete Seeger had the heart and the courage to fight with his art, with music for peace and for justice. This song, Oh Had I A Golden Thread, which he wrote in the sixties seems to encapsulate Pete’s philosophy and approach. I love to sing it and I hope you do too.

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 would weave the courage
Of women giving birth
And in it I would weave the innocence
Of the children of all the earth
Children of all the earth

Won’t you show my brothers and sisters
My rainbow design
‘Cause I I would bind up this sorry world
With hand and my heart and mind
Oh hand and heart and mind

Oh had I a golden thread
And a needle so fine
I would weave a magic strand
Of rainbow design
Of rainbow design
Oh oh oh

John Henry

It’s been a while since we sung this song. John Henry tells a great story, nay, it’s an epic, nay, a saga of heroism. (A couple more neighs and we’ll be back in the barn, which would be a stable position for sure, but (ok, we’ll skip the hey) let’s move on. Pete Seeger said that John Henry was one of his favorites to sing. Me too.

Bumbastories Monday Magazine Section Monday, January 12, 2015.

Greetings and welcome back to the Bumbastories Monday Magazine, the first of the year 2015. What a year already! News Commentary Section images Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream

In the study of history wars are typically the focus. Such and such war, the War of 1812 for example, began on such a date, set off by such and such an incident, brought on by such and such factors. Rarely do we hear about the onset of peace: an agreement reached among peoples, a move toward peace and reconciliation. Out of the horrors of the terrorists, out of the shock, can rise a new esprit among common people – who seek simply to live in peace and in freedom. Je suis Charlie. Nous sommes Charlie. Let there be unity. Let there be peace. Separation of church and state does not necessarily place the State over Religion. People can still be as religious as they like in whatever religion they chose (or don’t choose) in a secular democracy. The religious rights (and rites, sorry) of all are guaranteed by law. Indeed, a fully-realized spiritual life can be facilitated by a society in which freedom prevails. The marriage of religion to the state has generally been marked by tyranny. Queen Isabella and the Catholic Church are an example of one such “marriage”. A simple act of reason and good sense is required today to break the chain of violence and suffering. Perhaps it is not too late. Perhaps the time indeed has come when people of good will and good sense can band together to create a better world. If we are to flourish as a species on this planet, this quantum leap – not of faith but of reason and sensibility – is necessary. I am Charlie. Nous sommes Charlie.

Monday Magazine ——-October 27, 2014.

Welcome to the Bumbastories Monday Magazine, which features no ads, no promos, no UTubes, no quotes, no re-posts, and a minimum of saturated fats. In fact, this week’s magazine promises to be brief, or at least not so long-winded. We open with a song to accompany the Science Section, which could be a little tough without a little song, but could worth your time, being it’s about Time. The song is Up A Lazy River, the Hoagy Carmichael classic, played unfortunately by yours truly. Tough luck. Maybe later you can check out the Mills Brothers version.

Science Section: It’s about time!

A Dialogue:

Simplico: OK. Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that time is just a construct too? Time isn’t “real”, it’s only something we make up?

Sympatico: Yes. The concept of time is something we use to help us understand reality.

Simplico: So what’s real then? Hurry up, tell me quick. I don’t have much time.

Sympatico: Humans are hard-wired over years (not so many) of evoluti0n to understand time and space as dimensions that are absolutely rigid and immutable. We imagine a coordinate system – like some three-dimensional graph paper – stretching out indefinitely in both directions. Time is usually visualized as a giant clock ticking regularly, our timeclocks at work, our digital displays, our lifetimes measured out in hours and minutes. Time goes on forever and forever. It’s a homo sapiens thing, a human failing. I don’t think animals have any conception of time as we do……..

Simplico: Try telling that to my dog when he’s hungry and has to wait for his dinner.

Sympatico: I’d tell him that time can shrink and expand when you’re moving at very high velocities. Tell your dog to hop onto some fast spaceship and have his dinner “to go”. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity tells us that time and space can be bent and altered and that the only thing that’s constant is the speed of light squared- and the Theory of Relativity has been proven correct a zillion times. If it were wrong, your cell phone wouldn’t work. Time is a human concept and it has changed over (excuse the expression) time and across cultures. Before the invention of clocks, people just chilled and moved a lot slower….”

Simplico: Unless a lion was chasing them.

Sympatico: This is true. You did have to be careful of lions in the old days. Amyhoo, they didn’t worry about being productive back then or about “wasting time”. …

Simplico: Talk about “wasting time”, let’s get this over with. So tell me, why is the speed of light a constant in the universe?

Sympatico: I’ll have to think about that. Give me some time.

Simplico: Gotcha!

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And now some songs that Bumba has been working on as part of the Chester’s Songs CD that will be a companion piece to the One Life and the Phantom Speaks novels. What? A music CD to accompany a novel?

Walk That Lonesome Valley is a traditional spiritual that I suppose I learned from Pete Seeger. The other song is one that I could never figure out the chords on. Once I decided to put it on the CD, I looked up the lyrics and chords and was delighted to find the chords very simple. It is a great chord progression, written of course by Holland – Dozier – Holland at Motown and sung so wonderfully by Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops. The two songs are both cited in the books. While I’m doing a “Reach Out”, let me ask (beg) on behalf of all the people who listen and read this blog (all two of them) that, if you can sing and live in the Los Angeles area (the Southland, we like to call it) that you contact poor Bumba and help him with the singing. Meanwhile, please sing along!

Sunday Magazine Section

Welcome to the Bumbastories Sunday Magazine Section.

A Song of Peace

To quote Elvis Costello: “What’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding?”

Here’s a great song by Pete Seeger.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone, written in 1955, recorded by Pete, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin and many, many others, most notably by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Bumbastories celebrates Pete’s straightforward stand against war. Bumbastories asks why it is that pacifism is no longer popular. It’s not in vogue. No one seems to talk any more about simply ending war. Not to end this war or that war, but to end armed conflict altogether. It’s a simple concept. Maybe they should hash-tag it. In any case, it’s a fine song, and Maybank does a decent job on these simple, but poetic lyrics. We were playing it the other day…..

As a footnote, last week’s beautiful ceremony in Normandy, France that commemorated the soldiers who died on Omaha Beach seventy years ago was a fine demonstration that lasting peace is possible. The nations of western Europe, former enemies who are not without conflicting interests today and who may still not even like each other very much, have at least resolved to avoid war. Call it a Pax Americana. But they are not fighting with each other. They’ve had enough of war. The horrors of WW II are not forgotten. Never again. Let us live in peace.

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As I Sat On the Bus (AISOTB #36) The Bus Rolls On

Just around the corner from the bus stop I found a shady stoop to sit, and I began to write. I knew that I needed a big story: a storyline that would carry the reader through pages of excitement and rapture. The wait for the bus was going to be long.

James Madison (no relation to the fourth American president and framer of the Declaration of Independence long gone) set out on the road.

Madison was a slim man who looked much like his namesake Guy Madison, the actor who played Bat Masterson on TV. James M weighed in at 178 lbs now. At 6’1”, at age 74, he still moved well.

I got up from my seat on the corner stoop to peek out to see if the bus was coming. Nope, no bus.

Madison had been a basketball player as a young man. A fine athlete. He even played in the InterContinental League for three seasons before his enlistment in the agency, the CIA. Madison was still in pretty good shape. He was a professional. The guys who were after him would have a hard time catching him.

James Madison sat on the #28 bus. Alongside him his suitcase and a large backpack. He was headed for Union Station. The Amtrak to….Madison still hadn’t decided what his next move would be.

I got up again to check for the bus. No sign of it.

“Probably Kansas City,” he considered. “They’ll never find me in Kansas City.”

Madison had left his cellphone, computer, GPS, etc at the apartment. He’d have to do without those devices. Credit cards out too. Madison carried $100,000 in cash. It would have to last a long time. James Madison (no relation to the American president) was charged with conspiracy. If they caught him, he’d never see the outside world again.

Madison sat on the bus and made plans for his next life. “Yes. Kansas City will be perfect.”

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And the winner of last week’s Bumbastories Contest is none other than the well-preserved and partially pickled G.A. Miller, whose response to the “What color was George Washington’s white horse?” question won the hearts of all the Bumbastories judges. Miller’s blog is one to check out, by the way. Congratulations to Miller.

Sorry, no contest this week. But stay tuned.

To Pete

I posted these posts to Pete Seeger a while back, but clearly Pete Seeger is in our minds and hearts today. Thank you, Pete. And rest in peace.

Oh, Had I A Golden Thread.

I wish I could pay enough homage to Pete Seeger. I wrote him a letter one time. I thanked him for all he had given me. For Pete had given me the gift of music and the feeling that I (and all of us) could play and sing. For joy. For peace.

Pete Seeger, long blacklisted on television and radio, finally had a little show on WNET in New York. He would play his banjo and big 12-string guitar. He would have friends and guests sit and play with him: Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry, Doc Watson, Jack Elliot among others. My friend had recently loaned me his old guitar and I had a chord chart. I would watch Pete’s fingers. He was playing in D. In A. I started to play too. So I thank Pete for opening up that world to me.

Pete’s is a beautiful and brave spirit. I saw him perform several times. He was a great and charismatic performer, yet always Pete insisted that he himself was not important. There was the cause of freedom, there was the struggle for justice, there was the people coming together. We didn’t need the glitz, the amps, the show-biz. Everyone sang. This Land Is Your Land

As a disciple of Woody Guthrie, Pete spread Woody’s songs. This music, this folk music, belonged to us all, belonged to everyone.

This song, Oh, Had I A Golden Thread, was written by Pete. He would play it to open that TV show. Pete was a great songwriter. A fine musician. And a great man. Thank you, Pete.

Oh, had I a golden Thread And needle so fine I’ve weave a magic strand Of rainbow design Of rainbow design.In it I’d weave the bravery Of women giving birth, In it I would weave the innocence Of children over all the earth, Children of all earth.

Far over the waters I’d reach my magic band Through foreign cities, To every single land, To every land.

Show my brothers and sisters My rainbow design, Bind up this sorry world With hand and heart and mind, Hand and heart and mind.

Far over the waters I’d reach my magic band To every human being So they would understand, So they’d understand