Sing a song

On his banjo, Pete Seeger had these words printed: "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."

The passing on of Pete Seeger brought a moment of gratitude for all he gave to our nation's song book and, even more, our nation's character and labor to become more just in living up to our ideals. I spent time reflecting on his music and how significant a role it played in my life.

While in my second year of seminary, the first president George Bush began the first (isn't it sad when we get to the point that we have to number our many conflicts) Iraq war. For me, this was the first time that I was aware of war. I was in my early twenties, I was studying to enter ordained ministry and our entry into war unsettled me, caused me to pause and ask "why?" and I was scared. Admittedly, having my political leanings being left of center, I joined in the peace efforts. Not surprisingly, the seminary community held a pray and protest service and one of my classmates picked up his guitar and sung the Pete Seeger song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

The lyrics and the melody of that song struck a deep chord. I went and purchased a cassette tape (yes, I'm very old) of Peter Seeger songs and played it constantly. To this day, every time I hear that tune, I am transported back to that moment in that chapel at seminary.

At a gathering of folks at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum in Atlanta, Georgia on the anniversary of his "I Have a Dream" speech I crossed arms and linked hands with a Latino woman and an African American Muslim and with hundreds of other representations of our beautiful diversity sang chorus after chorus of the Seeger classic, "We Shall Overcome."

One of the great gifts of music is its ability to transport us to a certain time and place and moment --- what we were like, who we were with....It is testament to the man, that the Seeger songs were central to generations of folk-music lovers and peace activists and community organizers.

Recently, I realized that I have not been listening to a lot of music. Instead, I find myself listening to the radio --- NPR -- and to podcasts of persons' life stories. I was challenged to begin listening to music at least 10 minutes a day.

I have my I-pod ready and loaded and I'm proud to say it is full with a diverse collection of music and genres. Because the radio and cd-player in my car has not worked in six years, I no longer have the luxury of cruising to music and singing along. Therefore, I sing loud and proud in my home. If you happen to stop by and hear me singing....don't run away...be gracious with my screeching and tone-deafness (if I ever form a musical group it would be called "Sally and the Deaf Tones") and remember this quote by Pete Seeger, "There's no such thing as a wrong note as long as you're singing it."