Folk music has been on my mind and heart, partially because of the film “A Complete Unknown” and also because of the death of Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary.

The songs of Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seegar, Joan Baez and others played a significant role in my own spiritual journey. Their songs challenged me to look at my own beliefs about racism, about poverty, and especially about war. Beyond that, they were songs that connected me to others as we would gather at my high school and sing together. And today at a time when our own country is in the midst of a serious spiritual crisis, perhaps they are songs that can speak again to us.

As we face a dramatic change in social values and as judgment of those who are different is fast becoming the rule, the words from Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A’changin'” seem relevant:

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Divisiveness is the order of the day. Folks songs that celebrate our unity as a nation seem unrealistic. Can you imagine persons of the left- and right-wings joining hands and singing “This Land Is Your Land”? This, by the way, is a song that got Pete Seeger in trouble with Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his Communist-hunting cronies. Were he still with us, he would now be labelled as a socialist and condemned.

Some of the folk songs were songs of protest, “We Shall Overcome” being perhaps the signature protest song of the 60s. As our government continues to move in a repressive direction, voices of protest may become more important but those same voices of protest run the risk of the type of blacklisting experienced by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and others.

Are there folks singers since the 60s? That of course depends on one’s definition. Given that folk songs also tell a story while conveying a message, I would also consider Harry Chapin and Tracy Chapman to be folk singers whose songs convey a message. Harry Chapin’s song “Mister Tanner” tells of the heartbreak of pursuing one’s dreams while his better known “Cat’s in the Cradle” speaks to the price we pay for putting achievement ahead of family. Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” speaks eloquently to a dream of escaping from poverty and the inner city.

In these troubled times, I believe we desperately need folk singers as well as a rediscovery of the classic folk songs. We need songs about the widening gap between the rich and the poor. We need songs about ongoing racism and antisemitism. We need songs about power-hungry politicians. We need songs about the widening gap between religion and the challenges of daily life.

How have folk songs impacted my spiritual journey? They challenged me to open my eyes and face the racism within my own family much less in society in general. They challenged me to embrace non-violence in the face of my own tendencies to fighting. And the great hymn/folk song “Amazing Grace” has become a beacon of recovery from addiction.

Here then is a sampling of some great songs and singers.

Harry Belafonte sang memorable folk songs, including this African song sung with the Muppets

And finally Judy Collins sings a beautiful “Amazing Grace”

If you have a favorite folk song, feel free to add a link in your comment.

Reflection: How had folk music impacted your own journey?