Mary

Mary Travers and John Denver, ca. 1968

First of all, you have to know that I was the quintessential California girl in my teens. I lived in the Monterey/Carmel area in the mid-late 60s, hung out on the beach wearing a bikini and my hair long, blonde, and straight. On the beach, my friends and I played guitars and flutes and sang folk songs. My favourites were always the versions of songs done by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Great song selections, and they sang in the key where my voice is most comfortable, so I walked around singing their music a LOT of the time. When Mary split off and did her solo albums, I memorized those, too. I loved "The Song Is Love," "I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado," "Rhymes and Reasons," and "Follow Me." The last three were John Denver songs, another favourite artist. Mary Travers died today at age 72, and I've been taking it hard. For me, PP&M represent my youth, and losing Mary feels as another terrible reminder that my life is decidedly finite and and my tme ever more borrowed. I'm grateful though, that I will have Mary's voice and the memory of those lovely times with my frends, singing songs of freedom and love and peace to accompany the rest of my days.

So here are three favourites - Because All Men Are Brothers (Joe Glazer), The Rising Of The Moon (John Keegan “Leo” Casey (1846-70), the "Fenian Poet"), and In The Early Mornin' Rain (Gordon Lightfoot):