Long live teachers of children, because they can show children how they can save the world.
Pete SeegerRead
I have sung for Americans of every political persuasion, and I am proud that I never refuse to sing to an audience, no matter what religion or color of their skin, or situation in life.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes inclusivity and unity through music, regardless of the audience's background.
In this quote, Pete Seeger expresses his commitment to using music as a tool for bringing people together, irrespective of their political beliefs, religious affiliations, or racial backgrounds. He conveys pride in his ability to connect with diverse audiences, highlighting the essential role of music in promoting understanding and acceptance across different walks of life.
In practice
Using the quote in a speech about the power of art to bridge divides in a community gathering.
Long live teachers of children, because they can show children how they can save the world.
According to my definition of God, I'm not an atheist. Because I think God is everything. Whenever I open my eyes, I'm looking at God. Whenever I'm listening to something, I'm listening to God.
Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.
Well, normally I’m against big things. I think the world is going to be saved by millions of small things. Too many things can go wrong when they get big.” — Pete Seeger (on how he felt about attending his big 90th birthday bash last year)
I’ve never sung anywhere without giving the people listening to me a chance to join in - as a kid, as a lefty, as a man touring the U.S.A. and the world, as an oldster. I guess it’s kind of a religion with me. Participation. That’s what’s going to save the human race.
I write a song because I want to. I think the moment you start writing it to make money, you're starting to kill yourself artistically.
Rock'n'roll as a genre is different from pop and hip hop: it is about bands, and that for me suggests brotherhood, family, friendship and community.
I used to think that all my Wings stuff was second-rate stuff, but I began to meet younger kids, not kids from my Beatle generation, who would say, We really love this song.
I joined Count Basie's band to make a little money and to see the world. For two years I didn't see anything but the inside of a Blue Goose bus, and I never got to send home a quarter.
Hip hop is usually a bunch of guys talking to a bunch of guys, in my experience. It's homosocial, not homosexual, in that it's almost always all one gender in a room where it's being created. That locker-room environment has an impact on the language. I think the music suffers 'cause it allows an almost cartoonish level of misogyny.
With the lights out, It's less dangerous. Here we are now, Entertain us. I feel stupid, And contagious. Here we are now. Entertain us.
The blues will always be because the blues are the roots of all American music.
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