September 16, 2009

R.I.P., Mary Travers

Mary Travers has died.

She was the Mary in Peter Paul and Mary, principals of the folk revival of the 1960s.

They marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma and appeared with him at the March on Washington in 1963. They were early adopters of Bob Dylan's protest songs and sang probably the most popular version of "Blowing in the Wind."

This Pete Seeger composition may have been their most well-known song.

This is a blow. I loved their music when I was a teenager.

Posted by Linkmeister at September 16, 2009 04:11 PM | TrackBack
Comments

In tribute to Mary, thought I'd post the following lyrics to the public domain "Woman of Experience" biographical folk song I wrote about her during the 1980s:

"Women of Experience"

(chorus)
She's a woman of experience
She's a woman who is strong
She's a woman of intelligence
And she likes to sing folk songs.

(verses)
She was born in Old Kentucky
And raised in Bohemia
Her childhood was so lonely
But she found some joy in nature
Her parents taught her well
To always think for herself
And resist the Establishment
And that's why she sang folk. (chorus)

Around her was a crowd of rebels
Writers with words intense
Artists who hoped to change the world
And outfox the government
She rebelled against dumb authority
And refused to ape TV clones
Alienated and abandoned
She sang folk songs at home. (chorus)

She wandered in Washington Square
And sang along in the park
She read her quota of books
And sat in the coffeshops
She sang with a couple of men
And belted out her deep feelings
And fought for a better world
And they called her the "new folk queen." (chorus)

She's been through her family
And she's got some new lessons to share
And she's collected a lot of wisdom
And it's still fun to touch her hair
And she'll give you a passionate hug
And her spirit is still untamed
And she brings some love to the world
And sings folk songs in the middle of rain. (chorus)

Posted by: bobf at September 17, 2009 06:58 AM

Awe that sucks...

Posted by: jason bakely at September 17, 2009 11:28 AM

I love their music. I offer my prayers and condolences to the family.

Posted by: Amy at September 18, 2009 10:16 AM

Great embedded video , Link, though I like the Hammer Song from Newport '63 as the quintessential video of MT singing with passion as the wind tousles that impossibly blond hair of hers...

Thanks also for the Sandburg comment - I'm running down the ref on your site here...

Posted by: Jim Moran at September 18, 2009 10:50 PM

Jim, I didn't look too hard for a specific performance at YouTube. I'll look that one up.

Posted by: Linkmeister at September 19, 2009 09:56 AM