PETER YARROW

Originally, when I started planning this, these set of songs were going to be by Peter, Paul and Mary, a folk group from the sixties. I really liked their mix of traditional songs, protest songs, those by modern folk artists and their self-penned numbers. Completely devoid of imagination in naming themselves, the group comprised of Mary Travers, Noel Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow; rearrange as required.

The group were formed in 1961 in the United States and stayed together till 1969. They had several hit albums but only one No.1 single hit in the United States, their recording of John Denver's “Leaving On A Jet Plane”. They often claimed they were influenced by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and the Weavers which will probably mean very little to the modern world, except perhaps a trip to wikipedia.

I think it could be said that they helped bring to notice none other than Bob Dylan, when they recorded his composition “Blowing In The Wind”. Their recording reached No 2 in the States and number 13 in the UK. My own view is that a protest is far more effective when less brutal and their harmonising appealed more to me than Dylan's brash, nasal delivery. “Leaving On A Jet Plane” got to No 2 in the UK.

In 1969 they split up but reunited in 1978 and continued performing until the sad death of Mary Travers in 2009 from complications caused by the leukaemia she was diagnosed with in 2004.

They sang at many notable events during their time together including the March on Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King made his “I Have a Dream” speech. They appeared in countless demonstrations against the Vietnam War in the sixties and continued their fight for social justice in their second phase.

In recent years, and he is now aged 78, Peter Yarrow has not shied away from using a song as a vehicle to promote or create an awareness of political and social causes. In 2000 he set up, in the US, an organisation called Operation Respect designed to combat bullying in schools. He wrote a song called “Don't Laugh At Me” to further that cause. Look it up.

Politically PP&M supported Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 Presidential Election and Yarrow subsequently married McCarthy's niece, Mary Beth. They later divorced but had two children. Yarrow sang for Obama's volunteer workers in 2008 and he, his son and daughter, also sang at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in 2011.

My decision to feature Peter Yarrow here rather than the group will become totally clear when we reach the fifth song.

Having said all I said above, the first clip is of Peter, Paul and Mary performing together only a few years after they began. The song was known and learnt by all my children. It would be sung on long car journeys, often several times. My daughter still gets tears in her eyes when she hears the lines about Puff retiring sadly to his cave. Simple but poignant.

When I was young it seemed all children's songs, nursery rhymes, had been around for centuries so a new one was a novelty for me.

The first clip comes from a live performance in 1965.

Continuing the theme from the last two weeks of having two for the price of one. this second version is from 25 years later. Over the years there had been stories about Puff having a different meaning but as Peter Yarrow, who co-wrote it, says, it all about the lost innocence of youth. Sadly, these days, that loss seems to take place at an incredibly early age.

Following the death of Mary, Peter and Paul have continued to perform. “Blowing In The Wind” was, of course, a Bob Dylan song. He introduced himself with this one and another called “The Times They Are Changing. They were protest songs and sadly the answers don't appear to have been found, let alone acted upon. I do despair of this world and then sometimes I hear something from the young generation that makes me think it may be alright for a while.

As I have often said, this is what music is all about. Two old men (well anyone really), a couple of unamplified instruments and two simple voices. No autotune, no over loud backing track hiding the lyrics, no stupid chanting, just singing.

This clip is taken from a fairly recent live broadcast.

These next two songs are personally very important to me. I first heard this song in a BBC television show that Peter, Paul and Mary did which, I think, was shown on TV in about 1984. It was just before I set out on my first coastal journey. That journey saddened yet pleased me in so many different ways. Afterwards, I used to carry the words of this song around in my wallet and look at them when I couldn’t understand why people I had known years ago no longer behaved in the way we had advocated when we were younger.

In 2005, while in Perth, I went to an open air cinema and saw a film called “Edukators”. This song reminded me of the theme of that film. I won’t tell you why in case you can get the chance to watch the film but I loved the ending when the youngsters outwitted the two-faced cynic. Afterwards I told the people I watched it with, how proud I was of growing up in the sixties when many of us did believe we could make a difference. I was proud too that I completely avoided the drug culture and held my belief of peace and love, caring and sharing without having to alter my own mind to feel it.

The line that hits home is the one that says “and you see someone too young to know the difference, and the veil of isolation in their eyes, and inside you know you’ve got to leave them something, or the hope for something better slowly dies”. I want my children, their children, all those younger than me, to have at least as a good a life as I have had. I would love to leave them something better and I will, carry on.

Another recent clip of Peter Yarrow singing the song with his daughter.

Father and daughter previously, now father and son. I firmly believe that music can indeed speak louder than words in so many ways. I have written a good few songs in my time, one of which may appear here later, and the flow that comes with a simple melody can easily enhance words. And who hasn't at some time in their life, heard the words of a simple song say exactly what they feel or want to say. In fact this whole section of my site is all about that.

The reason it is so personal is that back in 2003 I co-organised a concert in Poland to highlight a project I was working on with my partner. This song, sung by a delightful young Polish music student, opened the musical side of things.

Need I say more, another recent clip.

Watching this clip you could feel sad. A old man, unable to completely remember the words of a song he wrote quite recently, trying to perform it for an audience. But then again, listen to the words. They should be given to every parent, politician, celebrity, sportsperson everywhere. If I could write something like this at any age I wouldn't care about a slight loss of memory.

Peter Yarrow has always wanted to involve his audience, that is true folk music. The love of performing stays with him. The chance to make a point, to fight for social injustice, is far more important than playing to a capacity crowd and fleecing the audience, who are essentially your income, for as much as possible. Make a living, sure. Have a good life, fine. But the ridiculous money some very ordinary performers make is obscene.

It's a pleasure to introduce some of you to a truly great singer, songwriter and activist.