Inscribed on his banjo, "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."

I've been a huge Pete Seeger fan for over a decade but have recently delved into his music with renewed vigor. With this country in such a transition, I wanted to listen to music that understood change in a fundamental way. Immediately I thought of Pete. Last year a documentary of his life came out, Pete Seeger: The Power of Song. It offers a fantastic portrait of his life and legacy. The songs he sings are a large part of our countries history, the songs that have been sung for so many generations that are still so relevant to where we find ourselves today.
Griffin has really been enjoying listening with me and more than once I've heard him singing quietly to himself the lyrics to " Oh you can't scare me, I'm sticking with the union".
For a short run (only 38 episodes, I believe) Pete had a folk music show on NY public television called Rainbow Quest. We have been watching some of these episodes and really enjoying it - especially Bruce. It is a collection of some amazing musical moments by such musicians as Johnny Cash, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, and Bruce's favorite Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. If you are interested in the roots of american music in blues and bluegrass I highly recommend checking these out (we are borrowing from Netflix).

When Bruce and I were first dating he took me out for a suprise date. We ended up in a high school auditorium for a Pete Seeger concert. It truely was one of the most special nights of my life, definitly a moment when I knew Bruce was the man for me. Hmmm, maybe THE moment - I will have to think about that now. The concert was wonderful, almost more like a sing-a-long for a bunch of like minded folks. As Pete sang his last song, my favorite song, This land is your land, I sang and cried my little heart out. I still get goosebumps remembering it.