PETE SEEGER - God Bless The Grass - (Columbia) - 1966, comment, review, environmentalism, green, environment, activism.

This one has been kicking around for a while. It was part of my collection and then in a cull I thought to get rid of it. I realised that a cull of my collection is not the solution … the making of more shelves for records is. So now its time to revisit a record I haven't listened to in 20 years.

I was always partial to Pete Seeger … there was a time in my life when I had a lot of questions and I found a lot of American folk music answered those questions. Admittedly I preferred the fighting words of Woody Guthrie and the directness of Phil Ochs but, hey, I was in my early 20s. Pete Seeger I wrongly lumped in with the hippies and the peaceniks and holding hand sing a longs when I preferred direct action and confrontational music … errr, whilst sitting comfortably at home in front of the stereo.

Pete was a contemporary of Guthrie's but of more even temperament. Woody Guthrie's guitar was stickered with "This Machine Kills Fascists," whilst (early on) Seeger's banjo was emblazoned with "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender." A subtle but distinct difference in philosophies (or temperament).

Of course things are not as I thought they were and Pete sang much more than simple platitudes. Over the years, as he has grown older and more acceptable to the middle class (he even appeared on Sesame Street), he became more benevolent and Father Christmas like, but don't be fooled he has not sold out and is now America's most favourite communist (or socialist – depending on where you stand in relation to definitions and the political fence). Of course I would argue that the respect of the middle does not imply a sell out, especially here, as Seeger started where most people end … from a well considered position.

Pete is the historian, archivist and librarian of folk. He is also the philosopher and thoughtful debater. His music reflects the scope of American folk (and the American Left) from the white middle class on the civil rights band wagon of "We Shall Overcome" to the in your face working-class politics of "I Hate the Capitalist System". His music also encompasses romantic ballads, environmental songs, kids songs and nonsense songs. His music is not anti–American and encompasses patriotic songs but never racist or exclusionist songs. He, like the rather more biting Phil Ochs, does encompass the "I love America" attitude but chooses to cast a critical eye over it. More than anyone else he has delineated the boundaries of folk music (and he was none to happy when Dylan plugged in even though he was a big influence on Dylan as well as on Bruce Springsteen, Don McLean, The Byrds and the mundane Billy Bragg).

The good news is Pete is still singing and releasing records (he was born in 1919 in New York) and played at President Obama's inauguration in 2009. He lives with his wife in in a small modest cabin in upstate New York. His life has had so many milestones I leave it to you to look at the bio links for detail.

Some people say there is a tendency for Pete to appear preachy or smug and I have noticed that but I give him the benefit of a doubt as those complaints usually say more about the listeners politics than anything else. I think sometimes his songs can be a little twee or one dimensional (especially on the live LPs where he has an audience and a cause) but I always find them valuable if for no other reason than from a historical perspective as his songs being "folk" songs do deal with the concerns of the "folk", at the time they were written.

His albums are normally him, his banjo and a bundle of songs, sometimes with related themes. The fact that he can control the listeners attention is a testament to his ability as a musician and storyteller.

This album is an album of songs about the environment and conservation or linked to those concerns. The fact that it was released in 1966 puts it at the forefront of music about the environment and environmental concerns, making it possibly the first ecological album. Those concerns would become dominant themes in the music of the late 60s and early to mid 70s culminating in the "no nukes" concert of the late 70s.

It's not rock so any Rolling Stone magazine type discussions on early "concept" albums sadly miss this (or the other albums that precede it) … apparently the Beatles invented the concept album.

What is good about the album is that not all the songs are diatribes. Some are evocative rural songs whilst some are old traditional songs of a simpler time past. It is this mix of songs and subsequent mood that makes the album become a more forceful polemic than it otherwise would have been. Malvina Reynolds co-writes a lot of the songs and her strident pointed lyrics are self evident as you would expect, and as they should be. Bio link below.

For all you climate change sceptics, weekend warriors, jet skiers and off road four wheel drivers the album may annoy you as the issues in 1966 seem to be much the same as the ones now even though the science has changed and our appetite to destroy has become more proficient. The album doesn't really point fingers but it makes it clear that you cant' have it both ways vis a vis the environment. And that is still lost on today's public, who are by and large, apathetic … selfish at best, morons at worst.

Tracks (best in italics)

The Power and the Glory – Ochs – one of Ochs most powerful songs is given a too genial interpretation by Pete.

First verse

            Come and take a walk with me thru this green and growing land
            Walk thru the meadows and the mountains and the sand
            Walk thru the valleys and the rivers and the plains
            Walk thru the sun and walk thru the rain

Last verse

            But our land is still troubled by men who have to hate
            They twist away our freedom & they twist away our fate
            Fear is their weapon and treason is their cry
            We can stop them if we try

Pretty Saro – Traditional – a beautiful traditional song about new lands and lost loves. Quite haunting and well covered.
70 Miles – Reynolds, Seeger – environmentalism with a capital "E" and quite persuasive.
The Faucets Are Dripping – Reynolds – in the best tradition of folk – a sing-a-long song but with a relevant message.

            The faucets are dripping in old New York City,
            The faucets are dripping and oh, what a pity,
            The reservoir's drying because it's supplying
            The faucets that drip in New York.

            You can't ask the landlord to put in a washer,
            He'd rather you move than to put in a washer,
            The faucets are dripping, they sound in my ears,
            The tap in the bathroom's been running for years.

I'm forever changing washers but then again I'm not from NYC.

Cement Octopus – Reynolds – if there ever was a song that is still relevant now (if not more relevant) then here it is … you wont have to think too much to pick up the meaning …

            There's a cement octopus sits in Sacramento, I think,
            Gets red tape to eat, gasoline taxes to drink,
            And it grows by day and it grows by night
            And it rolls over everything in sight.
            Oh, stand by me and protect that tree
            From the freeway misery.

            Who knows how the monster started to grow that way;
            Its parents are frightened and wish it would go away.
            But the taxes keep coming, they have to be spent
            On big bull dozers and tanks of cement,
            Oh, stand by me and protect that tree
            From the freeway misery.

            That octopus grows like a science-fiction blight,
            The Bay and the Ferry building are out of sight,
            The trees that stood for a thousand years,
            We watch them falling through our tears
            Oh, stand by me and protect that tree
            From the freeway misery.

            Dear old MacLaren won't take this lying down,
            We can hear his spirit move in the sandy ground,
            We built this Eden on the duney plain,
            Now they're making it a concrete desert again,
            Oh, stand by me and protect that tree
            From the freeway misery.

            The men on the highways need those jobs, we know
            Lets put them to work planting new trees to grow.
            Building new parks where kids can play,
            Pushing that cement monster away,
            Oh, stand by me and protect that tree
            From the freeway misery

God Bless the Grass – Reynolds – "Rory", "Corey", "Allegory" … small blades of grass that come up through the cracks in cement and eventually take over. A metaphor for all kinds of roots based (no pun intended) action especially non-violent revolution. Something that I would have thought the internet would have assisted … ( in between all the shopping and porn)
The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood – Farina – a powerful song by Richard Farina done well by Pete but there have been better versions. Read up on Richard Farina who died young in the 60s – see link below.
Coal Creek March – Steele, Steele – an instrumental and Pete doing what he does best – plucking his banjo … a perfect way to end side one
The Girl I Left Behind – Traditional – A beautiful traditional instrumental which actually evokes the title. The song has been used and adapted many times though its melody came from an Irish tune of the 18th century which was popularised during the American Civil War by Union Troops (probably by Irish conscripts – who incidentally were on both sides). And that is where I heard it … not in the war but in the criminally underrated John Ford – John Wayne film "The Horse Soldiers" (1959). Though Ford was fond of it he used it (to my ears) in the post-civil war film (also criminally underrated) "Rio Grande" (1950). The melody (to my ears) was also used as the backing to the Elvis song "A Cane and a High Starched Collar" a song cut from his 1870s era western (and one of the best westerns of the 1960s) "Flaming Star" (1960). Aaah musical archaeology, is there anything better?
I Have a Rabbit – Eliran – nice.
The People Are Scratching – Marrs, Martin, Seeger – another song with a barbed message and quite convincing.

            Up in the sky there were meat-eating fowls.
            The dead rabbits poisoned the hawks and the owls.
            Thousands of field mice the hawks used to chase
            Were multiplying all over the place.

Now the people are scratching all over the street
Because the rabbits had nothing to eat.

…

            All you small creatures that live in this land
            Stay clear of the man with the poisonous hand!
            A few bails of hay might keep you alive
            But he'll pay more to kill you than let you survive.

Now the people are scratching all over the street
Because the rabbits had nothing to eat.

Coyote, My Little Brother – La Farge – Peter La Farge was a Indian (possibly not) singer of the 1960s who was much loved by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan before dying young. This version is so so.
Preserven el Parque – Elysian Kellen – a Spanish song … "Preserve the Park" … Pete often sings in other languages and translates for the audience …
My Dirty Stream (The Hudson River Song) – Seeger – A plea for the polluted Hudson river in New York to be cleaned up. Seeger was (and is) involved in the environmental organization, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which he co-founded in 1966 a early inspiration to Greenpeace (before they sold out). A powerful song.
Johnny Riley – Traditional – a snippet of the haunting old traditional ballad
Barbara Allen – Traditional – another old beautiful old ballad, here done as a instrumental. There are millions of versions of this song and it never fails to evoke.
From Way up Here – Reynolds, Seeger – no war but peace, love and understanding … so what's wrong with that?
My Land Is a Good Land – Andersen – the famous song by (with a touch of refreshing cynicism) US folkie Eric Andersen (see below) … excellent.