Pete Seeger & Arlo Guthrie Interview

[ledder68]

Leftists...?.... (nosrednugj) Liberal and Conservative are, in a sense, very subjective words. If you listen carefully, you will see how much respect Pete and Arlo have for our country. Arlo once said "we have to remember who we are" and also said "this made me proud to come from a country where so many people know, and sing our songs." Pete and Arlo are grassroots folk artists. Grassroots is a concept that be either liberal or conservative depending on who is (not) in power at the moment.

[CrawdaddyJoe]

@ledder68 Hold on- you talk as if loving our country is a thing that differentiates them from leftists. I am a leftist, and I love my country. I am leftist because I love my country.

[ledder68]

@CrawdaddyJoe Hey, Joe. I've reread my earlier comment several times, but I can't figure out where I made it sound that I believe that "loving our counry is a thing that differentiates them [Pete and Arlo] from leftists."

I don't think that being leftist or right wing means that you don't love country; dissent is integral to our systerm. Arlo, Pete, Ted Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were/are, in my book, all patriots. On the other hand, I think Joe McCarthey was a self serving opportunist.

[nosrednugj]

Interesting that these two dedicated leftists make a wonderful case in favor of capitalism starting at about 3:30. Two thumbs up for that part anyway.

[CrawdaddyJoe]

@nosrednugj Actually, Arlo Guthrie isn't a leftist; he's generally more of a libertarian. He supports Ron Paul. Though, he also supports unions, including public unions, and is on social issues very liberal.

[BroughamConspiracy]

As much as I respect Seeger for his tireless efforts to preserve and rejuvenate American folk music, especially bluegrass, I just can't get past how naive he was about international communism, a political movement that has claimed about 100 million lives and counting. Stalin in the 30's, Mao in the 60's, the Pathet Lao, Khmer Rouge, North Korea and yes, Fidel/Che. Inability or unwillingness to understand the truth. It really is tragic that such a gifted man had such a repulsive flaw.

[jeeeezelouisee]

the interview is interesting. the rest of it.. like... really?

[dunkus42]

excuse my ignorance, but what and where is that building?

[makeitcunt]

this is all well and good, but what the hell does that slag prancing around in an aboandoned building to a terrible terrible song have to do with anything?

[Karmakanuck]

Legends.

[hartabe]

pete seeger in the foreword of the book abiyoyo said he was a judeo christian  and he was a communist of sorts the only thing wrong with communism is that you have a king to go corrupt and the word commune is jewish

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Pete Seeger sings out against Stalin ... only 70 years too late

"I'm singing about old Joe, cruel Joe. He ruled with an iron hand. He put an end to the dreams of so many in every land," Seeger wrote in "The Big Joe Blues."

--

"It's the first overt song about the Soviet Union," Seeger said during a phone interview from his Hudson Valley home in Beacon. "I think I should have though, when I was in the Soviet Union — I should have asked, `Can I see one of the old gulags?'"

[MarxBakuninMe]

Actually, when he visited the USSR in the '60s (I think) the Gulags had mostly been closed.

[2rainbowed]

The video is alright, but I'd lose the views of dancers and people in abandoned buildings. They're a distraction from the message of the interview.. no common thread between Seeger & Arlo with the rest..

[zyx645]

so were a lot of americans, until they saw the truth

no one is without flaw. war, just as bad as ever.

i think he redeamed himself...

[zyx645]

the 'clear' and 'only'channel to correct your hearing pete helped to fight nazis , called america to change something. then, he got to do some jail time for contempt against the same govt. two kind, gentle leaders you have here... thanks

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Seeger was pro-nazi up until 6/22/41

[Folkslinger]

That's about the dumbest thing I ever heard. He may not have been in favor of entering the war before 1941, but to suggest that he was pro-nazi is pure BS

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Read up on it - check out the stories behind "Songs for John Doe", read the interview where he apologized and said he was "just following the party line", and then try again.

[Folkslinger]

He may have apologized for going along with the party line, yes. That's not the same as apologizing for having been a nazi supporter. He was a supporter of the Lincoln Brigade, the international coalition to fight the fascists in Spain, long before 1941.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

From 1939 - 1949, Seeger, Guthrie, and many of the other folkies supported both the nazis and commies (two peas in a pod) including the partition of Poland and the Soviet seizure of the Baltics. When Seeger was directly questioned about it, he said he was "just following the party line."

[Folkslinger]

The party line (the communist policy) was to not enter the war until Stalin could secretly mobilize against the Nazis. They were buying time. It should not cost them their reputations. These guys were supporters of the allies, and joined up - Seeger into the army, and Guthrie into the merchant marine (which lost more percent of their men than any other service). They may have changed their songs to accommodate the politics of the times, but they didn't change their tune.

[Folkslinger]

All of their work, together or individually proves beyond any reasonable doubt that they were relentless in their work to defeat the bastards. Seeger may now regret following the party line, the same line the US government was following - non interference, but how that equates with being pro-nazi is beyond me.

[Folkslinger]

in 3 parts: I don't know where you're getting you information. But, I wouldn't believe everything you read. Just because someone writes their view in a book doesn't make it true. Nowhere, in their songs, their books, their political cartoons, in any of their work does Seeger or Guthrie even slightly hint that they supported the nazis at any time.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Franklin D., listen to me,

You ain't a-gonna send me 'cross the sea,

'Cross the sea, 'cross the sea, You ain't a-gonna send me 'cross the sea.

You may say it's for defense,

But that kinda talk that I'm against.

I'm against, I'm against,

That kinda talk ain't got no sense.

Lafayette, we are here, we're gonna stay right over here...

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

If true, which is doubtful, that is not to their credit.

[macgopaleen]

You're talking out your ass.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Q: How have your politics changed?

A: My father, Charles Seeger, got me into the Communist movement. He backed out around '38. I drifted out in the 50's. I apologize [in his recent book] for following the parry line so slavishly, for not seeing that Stalin was a supremely cruel misleader.

[Folkslinger]

I've just about said as much. However, your initial assertion that Seeger was pro-nazi is not affirmed by anything you've written here. It's clear you equate Seeger's going along with the party line with supporting nazism. That's what I don't get.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

What would you call it then? He's a self-admitted Stalinist, the "progressives" of the time ('39, '40, '41) considered the totalitarian movements in Germany, Russia, and Italy to be the wave of the future vs. dying western democracy, and he very explicitly opposed US entry into the war against the nazi/commie alliance.

[Folkslinger]

Seeger & Guthrie, were union guys, for the very same reason the union of the states was established. That's what I'd call it, American. They considered unions to be the wave of the future (a mistake so far), not some totalitarian system.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

And both -isms were supposed to be the ultimate unions; hence the names Union of Soviet Socialist Republics & National Socialist German Workers. In my experience as both a USW and IBBM member, they weren't that far off the mark, unfortunately.

[Folkslinger]

The US was established to establish "a more perfect union." Let's hope that Seeger and Guthrie's support for this union was wasn't a mistake. Less perfect unions have come and gone. This one needs all the help it can get. And the work of these two guys continues to inspire many of us to get involved and lend a hand.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Seeger also showed off his totalitarian side at Newport '65. He'll always be somewhat of a musical version of Leni Riefenstahl. Guthrie not as bad other than his somewhat anti-Semitic xenophobia although quite lyrical.

[juliejazz]

Are you talking about Arlo Guthrie? His mother was Jewish.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

No - Woody's comment about "that Russian Jew" Irving Berlin. And, yes, he did have quite a case of cognitive dissonance or just ignorance about the "progressive" situation arising in Europe.

[melora72]

He is talking about following the Communist party line. The American communists were naive about the nature of the Soviet Union, but they were never supportive of the Nazis. They were never racist or anti-Semitic. In fact there were a lot of Jews among them. I was obsessed with the Guthries in the 1960's and 1970's, and read a lot about them and their associates. I saw Arlo twice. I've read both of Woody's biographies and a biography on Lee Hayes of the Weavers among other things.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Pete was always a little slow on the uptake.

[blackholeconcepts]

The Cuban blockade still does not work! says blackholeconcepts com what about Clear Channel Comm, now Carlysle Group, aka W Bush Senior.

[lonelygirlI5]

Thank you for letting me know about this video.

Holy wah! What a good one!

[desheik]

Musicians in the Sixties need to be given credit for starting both a religion (rock 'n' roll) and a revolution. Political activism and peaceful dissent. Long live the hippies. Good post.

[thefrontpage]

For those who aren't familar, Nebrepmek is referring to lyrics in Arlo Guthrie's classic "Alice's Restaurant," the 18-minute anti-war anthem. On the film front, be sure to check out "Wasn't That a Time," the early 1980s documentary on Pete Seeger's early group, The Weavers. This BadTV video is a good tribute to two enduring musicians and activists who were never afraid to break a few rules.

[hdatontodo]

I liked Pete Seeger's folk song about eating Soda Crackers and cows needing to be milked.

[Nebrepmek]

Bless you for reminding us of these wonderful men and their ideas. I've loved them since I was a boy and I've got the 8x10 colored glossy photographs with circles and arrows on the back of each one with a paragraph on the back saying how they will be used as evidence against me to prove it.

[BadTvDotCom]

I love alternative media!