Ancient Bardic Oral Tradition
There exists a powerful infectious condition:
The ancient bardic oral tradition!
When exposed, you will be swept along,
By a poem performed as a chant or a song.
Sometimes accompanied by harp or guitar,
By traveling performers from near and from far.
Aided by printing and then phonograph,
Soon you were asking for their autograph.
So many choices as to who you might choose,
From country, folk, pop, rap, jazz, punk, rock and blues.
Guthrie, and Seeger, and Kristofferson,
Buffett, and Dylan, and Denver, and Young,
Parton, and Haggard, Williams father/son,
Lennon, McCartney, Springsteen, Simon,
Jagger & Richards, Garcia, Morrison,
Sorry missing favorites. List will never be done.
Singing the songs of artists present and past,
We memorize music and poems that last.
We all are infected by this marvelous condition,
Celebrating our singer-songwriter tradition!
© Forrest W. Heaton January 2019
Our hope with this post is two-fold: 1) highlight the skills of many of your favorite singer-songwriter musicians as poets, and 2) encourage you to go out to see their live performance(s). In almost all instances, you will see why each of the artists who have staying-power have lasted so long—musical skill, poetic skill, commitment to their audience, inexhaustible energy, powerful message, and extraordinary appeal.
Mary & I experienced just such an evening recently attending “An Evening with Peter Yarrow” (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame) at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro NC, 16Nov18. We made an evening of it joining Jerry & Minnie Sue Douglas and their daughter, Mindy Douglas & spouse, Tim O’Brien, for dinner and the event. Jerry, a retired physician, church pianist/organist, and an experienced performing musician in his own right, had encouraged our group to get tickets. The events Jerry chooses are almost always outstanding and this evening was no exception.
Here’s what the online promotional piece for the event had to say: “Since the Civil Rights era, Peter Yarrow has committed his time and talent—both with renowned trio Peter, Paul & Mary and as a solo performer—to social justice causes that have utilized his skills as both a performer and an organizer. His gift for songwriting has produced some of the most moving songs Peter, Paul & Mary have recorded, earning several gold and platinum albums and numerous Grammys. Peter Yarrow’s life and work is based on his passionate belief that music, with its power to build community and catalyze change, can be a particularly powerful organizing tool! For this intimate evening of performance and conversation at the ArtsCenter, Yarrow will share his years of music and activism through songs and stories that encourage us to each change our part of the world.”
The evening more than lived up to our expectations. At one point, Yarrow invited the sold-out audience (350-seat theatre) to come up on stage (until full, and it was) and sing with him! It was a moving experience as we all sang from memory Puff the Magic Dragon and other of his world-wide hits. Hopefully the photo included here will give you some of that feeling. Through internet searches, you can study his lyrics and listen to his songs. Perhaps those searches/listening experiences will lead you to find out where he is performing and make it a point to take in his live performance/discussion. It will be a significant contribution to your celebrating singer-songwriters as they carry the banner of our ancient bardic oral tradition!