RIP Mr Seeger
Jeez, they're dropping like flies.
There is no American, ever, who has more clearly stated his or her opposition to unjust persecution by hegemonic government. Pete Seeger's life should be taught in every school.
Hang out for the last verse, the new verse, about keeping New York state free from fracking. Go, Pete.
There's more, of course, from this heroic 92-year long life. Pete's testimony before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC):
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.
There's more, of course. Mr Seeger was a distinguished patriot, a world-class lover of freedom, and a world-class musician. (From "This Land is Your Land"):
When the sun came shining, then I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling,
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting,
This land 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.
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 nothing,
That side was made for you and me.
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking my freedom highway,
Nobody living can make me turn back,
This land was made for you and me.
We should all be so good.