Week #28
Folk Songs Pete Seeger Covers
This is week 28 of the year and we will be celebrating Folk Songs Pete Seeger Covers, by delving into the songs and applying concepts to create more joy and connection during caregiving routines with music.
The songs are:
America the Beautiful
Casey Jones
Cielito Lindo
De Colores
Down by the Riverside
Down in the Valley
Freight Train
Git Along Little Dogies
House of the Rising Sun
Featured Song
FREIGHT TRAIN
“Freight Train” is a North American folk song written between 1906 and 1912 by Elizabeth Cotten when she was a teenager growing up in North Carolina near train tracks. Cotten worked as a nanny for folk singer PeggySeeger, who helped to popularize the song with British folk musicians. Unfortunately, Cotten initially did not receive songwriting credit as the song was misappropriated by other songwriters before credit was appropriately returned to Cotten.
Is this melody familiar to you?
Are the words familiar?
Did you find yourself humming along?
How did it affect you? Did your awareness change? Your breath? Your focus? Your mood?
Would you feel comfortable playing this in the background and allow yourself to hum or sing along? By yourself and/or with the one(s) you care for?
Freight Train Here is a video of the composer Elizabeth Cotten’s live version. I hope you enjoy it!
Creative Ideas
HOW TO USE THE MUSIC
Try humming or singing along with the provided recording, or one of your choosing for increased feeling of ______.
Listen to a recording to create a shared experience.
Listen while engaged in daily routines, to add a feeling of familiarity and comfort (if the song is known and loved)
Try reminiscing with the song history, or singers of the song. Look at pictures famous singers who performed the song.
SELF-CARE TIPS
Messages from Pete Seeger that can help us care for ourselves and stay connected to ourselves and others in a positive way:
Pete Seeger saw singing with others as a powerful and accessible way to bring people together, uplift their spirits, and to inspire them to work more collaboratively together. (research shows this to be true between caregiver and care receiver as well!)
“There is no such thing as a wrong note, just as long as you're singing along." - Pete Seeger
“My main purpose in life is not to put songs in people’s ears but to put them on their lips” - Pete Seeger
“Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history” -Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger believed that singing together can make a positive difference. It can help us to feel more connected to ourselves and others. Try it and see if it brings you more peace, joy or connection!
Share if you felt inspired by any of Pete Seeger’s thoughts at [email protected]
CAREGIVING TIPS
Sing together! Because our theme this week is Pete Seeger and getting people to sing together was one of Pete’s passions, and research shows that singing together brings more connection and bonding, I thought it would be a good caregiver tip.
Find a song that you enjoy and sing together!
Try singing one of these Pete Seeger songs together
Reminisce about these songs and where you heard them and how they make you feel when you hear them.
Together, you can listen to songs that are meaningful to one or both of you
Hum together
Hum or sing or listen to music that you enjoy while doing your daily routines
Add these songs to your Singalong this week.
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