“Misunderstood”? The man was a goddam Stalinist. And the HUAC people didn’t know the half of it. Yeah, I know Seeger apologized later on, but his apology was of the “Whoopsie!” variety. 20 to 40 million of Uncle Joe’s “whoopsies” could not be reached for comment.
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First and foremost – thanks for the sidebar link! It was a great feeling. Not so much in the Matthewsian tingle sort of way, but great nonetheless.
Next, yeah, Pete Seeger would have been a useful idiot if I didn’t suspect he knew much of the evils of Uncle Joe and honestly didn’t care. He just wanted to be part of a revolution and accepted any manner of evil to get there.
The music of my youth was full of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Woodie Guthrie, Jimmie Rogers, Shel Silverstein, Burl Ives and all sorts of folks whose politics I would just as soon never know. Steve Earle is a contemporary version of that.
I listen to the Hillmen’s version of Wainsborough Cotton Mill Blues, credited to Seeger and I want to forget all that commie stuff. You can keep your “If I had a Hammer” all you want, but if it weren’t for “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” I might not have gotten laid that night at 4-H Camp.
I suppose the politics of many of my heroes del arte will have to remain right side/left side in my brain from the music and literature they have composed. Dang.