Do as the Doukhobors Do
Sorry we've been posting so infrequently lately. I've just started my PhD and Jay has just moved. Hopefully things will settle down soon and we'll start posting on a more regular basis.
Pete Seeger - Do as the Doukhobors Do
Normally I get pretty defensive about people always associating the Doukhobors - a pacifist sect of communalist Christians currently residing in Canada and Russia - with nude marches, arson, bombings and the like. My ancestors were Doukhobors and, throughout the past three centuries, they were plagued by persecution and state violence in both their Russian homeland and their adopted country, Canada. Only a very small group of zealots called the Sons of Freedom were ever involved in these more sensational forms of civil disobedience, while the vast majority of Doukhobors merely wanted to be left to themselves to live out their philosophy of 'toil and peaceful life'. Even as such, many of the more radical actions of the Sons of Freedom were direct responses to events such as the confiscation of their lands and the forced internment of their children.
While Pete Seeger could probably be accused of perpetuating the stereotypical image of the Doukhobors (if not of Canadians in general), this song is really not about the Doukhobors at all. When it comes down to it, Seeger just wanted all the protest ladies to get naked to liven things up. And who can blame him? Anyway, when a song is this jaunty, you can't really think too deeply about it. Instead, you should try dancing around the room or in your cubicle (with clothing optional, of course).
This song is from one of the most beautiful boxed-set compilations I have ever seen, The Best of Broadside, 1962-1988 on Smithsonian Folkways Records. Collecting lost songs originally recorded for Broadside Magazine, the compilation is a who's who of American political folk music with Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Nina Simone, etc. etc. Wonderfully illustrated with lyrics, photos and historical essays, the set easily puts most of the others I own to shame.
[buy]
Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train
Elizabeth Cotten is at once one of the great fingerpicking guitarists and the most out of key singers of all time. For some reason, though, I love the fact that she can't really sing but still manages to make beautiful music. Born in 1895, Cotten's musical talents were discovered by Seeger's parents in the late 1950s while she working as a domestic servant. After going decades without picking up a guitar at all, Cotten ended up recording a number of songs that she used to play as child for the Seegers, most of which were released by Folkways Records. Without a doubt they are all outstanding, but Freight Train, which is an orignal Cotten composition, is easily my favourite.
[buy]
Pete Seeger - Do as the Doukhobors Do
Normally I get pretty defensive about people always associating the Doukhobors - a pacifist sect of communalist Christians currently residing in Canada and Russia - with nude marches, arson, bombings and the like. My ancestors were Doukhobors and, throughout the past three centuries, they were plagued by persecution and state violence in both their Russian homeland and their adopted country, Canada. Only a very small group of zealots called the Sons of Freedom were ever involved in these more sensational forms of civil disobedience, while the vast majority of Doukhobors merely wanted to be left to themselves to live out their philosophy of 'toil and peaceful life'. Even as such, many of the more radical actions of the Sons of Freedom were direct responses to events such as the confiscation of their lands and the forced internment of their children.
While Pete Seeger could probably be accused of perpetuating the stereotypical image of the Doukhobors (if not of Canadians in general), this song is really not about the Doukhobors at all. When it comes down to it, Seeger just wanted all the protest ladies to get naked to liven things up. And who can blame him? Anyway, when a song is this jaunty, you can't really think too deeply about it. Instead, you should try dancing around the room or in your cubicle (with clothing optional, of course).
This song is from one of the most beautiful boxed-set compilations I have ever seen, The Best of Broadside, 1962-1988 on Smithsonian Folkways Records. Collecting lost songs originally recorded for Broadside Magazine, the compilation is a who's who of American political folk music with Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Nina Simone, etc. etc. Wonderfully illustrated with lyrics, photos and historical essays, the set easily puts most of the others I own to shame.
[buy]
Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train
Elizabeth Cotten is at once one of the great fingerpicking guitarists and the most out of key singers of all time. For some reason, though, I love the fact that she can't really sing but still manages to make beautiful music. Born in 1895, Cotten's musical talents were discovered by Seeger's parents in the late 1950s while she working as a domestic servant. After going decades without picking up a guitar at all, Cotten ended up recording a number of songs that she used to play as child for the Seegers, most of which were released by Folkways Records. Without a doubt they are all outstanding, but Freight Train, which is an orignal Cotten composition, is easily my favourite.
[buy]
posted by ian at 6:36 PM
2 Comments:
Elizabeth Cotton is brilliant. You should track down the children's albums by Ida's Elizabeth Mitchel. She does a great cover version of "Freight Train"
Pete Seeger -'Do as the Doukhobors Do'
In this song, Pete Seeger reflects on the 1950s and 1960s at the time when a small group of zealots amongst the Doukhobors in the interior of British Columbia, Canada were in conflict with the government over the issues of land and public education. To gain attention of the Ruling powers, the zealots succumbed to the use of nude marches, sometimes bombings and burnings of local property. Violence was against the prevailing philosophy of their ancestors, but they were persuaded by unscrupulous leaders to hijack the puristic Doukhobor norms of the majority group.
Historically in the early part of the century in Canada, zealot women accidentally discovered that stripping has shock value in attracting the media and the public. This was at the time when the government of the day was transgressing its promise of allowing the Doukhobors to live in peace in their communities. Later in the 1950s when the British Columbia government seized control of zealot children over a public school truancy issue, the marginalized zealot women with their men rallied by stripping as if to say in 'Christ-like' fashion: 'You have taken away my property, my children, now here is my shirt, too.' Take notice! It was not an easy action for them.
Nudity was a technique that attracted the media and ultimately the public. It is remarkable that Pete Seeger who resides in the New York area, several thousands of kilometres away from the site of the sensational media stories, was able to grasp the meaning of the conflict in western Canada.
Pete Seeger's song is about getting people and the Government to pay attention to citizens' rights and needs. As peace and environmental activists, we can relate to this when we raise issues that for us are self-evident. It is a challenge to persuade the powers at all levels of governing to take notice of important issues of society in a nonviolent way.
With his humorous lyrics 'Do as the zealots do, honey, Do as the zealots do' (in a more accurate rephrased form), the big song master Seeger challenges both the public and the officials to pay attention to peoples rights. He does not support violence, but he does encourage people to make their voice known.
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