Songs of our childhood

Mary Travers passed away the other day, giving me a big tug on those memories of childhood. Peter Paul & Mary's "Ten Years Together" was the first album that I considered "mine". It was 1970, and I was seven years old. I don't remember how I acquired it, but I sure played it a lot. I vividly remember the photo of Mary on the inside cover (the album cover opened like a book) - in the bright sunshine on a swing with her daughter on her lap.

We sang a lot as kids. We had storybook albums (Perry the little girl squirrel), learning albums (Poor little zero, nobody's hero), and albums by contemporary artists singing kids songs - artists like Danny Kaye and Burl Ives. And there were some old 78s that my grandfather had - featuring groups like "Firehouse Five Plus Two".

But we also had contemporary artists singing contemporary songs. So, as a child of the 60s we grew up singing protest songs. Not because we were protesting, but rather because...well...there they were. At that point in my life, I didn't get the significance of lyrics like "Seventy miles of ocean spray, it's a garbage dump (referring to San Fransisco Bay)" or "Where have all the flowers gone?" or "Preserven el Parque Elysian". We just sang and sang and sang.

The music of Peter, Paul and Mary was different. It was music on which both parents and children could agree. When my boys were young I'd sing these songs to them. Maybe to them and to myself as well. Because every time I hear this music, it takes me back to a simple time. Don't get me wrong, life is great and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But it anything but simple. And it was a childhood that, too, I wouldn't trade for anything. Thanks in part to Mary Travers.

So Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave.