Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Fame, Dead at Age 72

Today is a sad day for those of us who grew up in the 60's listening to Peter, Paul and Mary songs as we marched and protested our way through life. Folk singer Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary fame died Wednesy at age 72 from her long battle with leukemia.

Mary Travers will forever be aligned with that time of history and the immortal folk ballads she and her fellow band members brought to American youth. Today, I can hear her melodic voice singing Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind.

How many roads must a man walk down before they can call him a man...

How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned..

The roads that Mary Travers traversed took her around the globe spreading a social justice message mixed with music in a way that hasn't occurred since. There are many of us who work in social justice that yearn for the kind of music that Peter, Paul and Mary brought to the social justice movements of their time and ours in history.

From the civil rights movement and the day when Martin Luther King gave his "I have a Dream speech, where we chanted and sang along to "If I had a hammer..." to their wide ranging social justice beliefs, they inspired a generation of activists. We chipped and hammered away at the resistance of southern whites who refused to acknowledge the humanity of their African American neighbors. Their music and Mary Travers voice spurred us on to believe that we could transform our society. With guitar in hand and long blond flowing hair, Mary Travers leaves a musical footprint along the road of social justice that won't be easily erased or replaced.

And when that cruel Vietnam War was raging it was "Johnny has to fight" that became our battle cry for resistance.

"And The Cruel War is raging, Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him from morning to night.
I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.
Tomorrow is Sunday, Monday is the day
that your Captain will call you and you must obey.
Your captain will call you it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.
I'll tie back my hair, men's clothing I'll put on,
I'll pass as your comrade, as we march along.
I'll pass as your comrade, no one will ever know.
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.
Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, I fear you are unkind
I love you far better than all of mankind.

Mary Travers, Noel Peter Starkey, and Peter Yarrow did indeed love all of mankind and their commitment to the creation of a more compassionate world shaped the lives of so many of us who used their music as our rallying cry to engage in social justice work with immigrants, civil rights, farm workers, soldiers and civilians all over the world.

But you didn't have to be a rebel to love their music. From the romantically sad John Denver written song, Leaving on A Jet Plane to the fun and hidden drug symbolism of Puff the Magic Dragon, the music of Peter, Paul and Mary brought joy and delight to millions.

The trio disbanded in 1970 for various reasons, but when they performed 8 years later they realized in the words of Peter Yarrow, that "we missed each other."They began performing again, picking up the mantle of social justiced by traveling to South Africa in 1978 to sing against the deadly violence of apartheid that was ravaging that country.

And again in El Salvadore in 1983 when Mary Travers was invited to be part of an international team visiting there to assess the damage being done by the American government in South America. The song, El Salvadore, written by Paul, became another hit for the trio.

The trio continued to perform for many years, still performing when Mary Travers was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004, last performing together this past May.

Mary Travers once said, ""We've learned that it will take more than one generation to bring about change," Travers once said. "The fight for civil rights has developed into a broader concern for human rights, and that encompasses a great many people and countries. Those of us who live in a democracy have a responsibility to be the voice for those whose voices are stilled."

Yes, Mary, I would agree but I wonder if we'll ever have a voice like yours, asking us, "Where have all the flowers gone." Now we add you to the list of those flowers and pray for peace in a world determined to destroy itself with hate and fear.

Mary Travers is survived by loving family members, band mates who honor her life with their words of sorrow at her passing and a bunch of aging old hippies who are digging out Peter Paul and Mary CD's today.

Listen to Mary hear in Blowing in the Wind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t4g_1VoGw4

And at the Washington Peace March in 1971 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8U6Oh9uSY8

Resources:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/17/obit.mary.travers/index.html

NPR radio morning news show