Editing Pete Seeger (section)

===Vietnam War era and beyond===
[[File:Pete Seeger Stern Grove.jpg|thumb|Pete Seeger, Stern Grove, San Francisco, August 6, 1978]]
A longstanding opponent of the arms race and of the [[Vietnam War]], Seeger [[satire|satirically]] attacked then-President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] with his 1966 recording, on the album ''[[Dangerous Songs!?]]'', of [[Len Chandler]]'s children's song "[[Beans in My Ears]]". Beyond Chandler's lyrics, Seeger said that "Mrs. Jay's little son Alby" had "beans in his ears", implying that 
"Alby Jay" (a loose pronunciation of Johnson's nickname "LBJ") was deaf to war protesters’ concerns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiBEANEARS.html |title=Beans in My Ears |publisher=Sniff.numachi.com |access-date=November 20, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501224842/http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiBEANEARS.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During 1966, Seeger and [[Malvina Reynolds]] took part in environmental activism. The album ''[[God Bless the Grass]]'' was released in January of that year and became the first album in history wholly dedicated to songs about environmental issues. Their politics were informed by the same ideologies of nationalism, populism, and criticism of big business.<ref>Ingram, David (2008). 'My Dirty Stream : Pete Seeger, American Folk Music, and Environmental Protest', ''Popular Music'' Vol. 31, pp22. Routeledge Taylor & Francis Group. October 14, 2014</ref>

Seeger attracted wider attention starting in 1967 with his song "[[Waist Deep in the Big Muddy]]", about a [[Captain (land)|captain]]—referred to in the lyrics as "the big fool"—who drowned while leading a platoon on maneuvers in [[Louisiana]] during World War II. With its lyrics about a platoon being led into danger by an ignorant captain, the song's anti-war message was obvious—the line "the big fool said to push on" is repeated several times.<ref>Gibson, Megan. "Songs of Peace and Protest: 6 Essential Cuts From Pete Seeger." ''Time.com'', January 28, 2014. p.1 Business Source Complete. October 14, 2014.</ref> In the face of arguments with the management of [[CBS]] about whether the song's political weight was in keeping with the usually light-hearted entertainment of the ''[[Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'', the final lines were "Every time I read the paper/those old feelings come on/We are waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool says to push on." The lyrics could be interpreted as an allegory of Johnson as the "big fool" and the [[Vietnam War]] as the foreseeable danger. Although the performance was cut from the September 1967 show,<ref>''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', CBS, Season 2, Episode 1, September 10, 1967.</ref> after wide publicity,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peteseeger.net/givepeacechance.htm |title=How "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" Finally Got on Network Television in 1968 |publisher=Peteseeger.net |access-date=November 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805061813/http://www.peteseeger.net/givepeacechance.htm |archive-date=August 5, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> it was broadcast when Seeger appeared again on the Smothers' Brothers show on February 25, 1968.<ref>''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', CBS, Season 2, Episode 24, February 25, 1968.</ref>

At the November 15, 1969,<!-- November is correct; incorrect October date widely quoted on web -pls do not change --> [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam|Vietnam Moratorium March]] on Washington, DC, Seeger led 500,000 protesters in singing [[John Lennon]]'s song "[[Give Peace a Chance]]" as they rallied across from the White House. Seeger's voice carried over the crowd, interspersing phrases like "Are you listening, [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]?" between the [[refrain|chorus]]es of protesters singing, "All we are saying ... is give peace a chance."<ref>See, for example, [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/series/pt_09.html this PBS documentary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322233355/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/series/pt_09.html |date=March 22, 2017 }} and this {{YouTube|ZUn-EGsNt58|recording}}.</ref>

In the documentary film ''The Power of Song'', Seeger mentions that he and his family visited the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1972.<ref>{{Cite video|people=Brown, Jim (Director)|title=The Power of Song|medium=DVD|publisher=Genius Products LLC|date=2005|isbn=1-59445-156-7}}</ref> [[Phạm Tuyên]] composed "Let me hear your guitar, my U.S. friend" ("Gảy đàn lên hỡi người bạn Mỹ") as a tribute to Seeger's support for the DRV. When Seeger and his wife arrived at the airport, Phạm Tuyên greeted them and they sang the song together.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phạm |first=Tuyên |title=Gảy đàn lên hỡi người bạn Mỹ – Câu chuyện sau khi bài hát ra đời |url=https://nhacsiphamtuyen.vn/gay-dan-len-hoi-nguoi-ban-my-cau-chuyen-sau-khi-bai-hat-ra-doi.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=Nhạc sĩ Phạm Tuyên |language=vi}}</ref> 

[[File:Pete Seeger-1979.jpg|thumb|Seeger in 1979]]
Being a supporter of progressive labor unions, Seeger had supported [[Edward Sadlowski|Ed Sadlowski]] in his bid for the presidency of the [[United Steelworkers of America]]. In 1977, Seeger appeared at a fundraiser in [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]]. In 1978, Seeger joined American folk, blues, and jazz singer [[Barbara Dane]] at a rally in New York for striking coal miners.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QAuAgAAQBAJ&q=Pete+Seeger+Barbara+Dane&pg=PA209|title=The Pete Seeger Reader|first1=Ronald D.|last1=Cohen|first2=James|last2=Capaldi|date=December 16, 2013|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=209|via=Google Books|isbn=9780199336128|access-date=October 9, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202002231/https://books.google.com/books?id=6QAuAgAAQBAJ&q=Pete+Seeger+Barbara+Dane&pg=PA209#v=snippet&q=Pete%20Seeger%20Barbara%20Dane&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> He also headlined a benefit concert—with bluegrass artist [[Hazel Dickens]]—for the striking coal miners of Stearns, Kentucky, at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on June 8, 1979.<ref name="Dickens">{{Cite book |last=Dickens |first=Hazel |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/809471478 |title=Working girl blues : the life and music of Hazel Dickens |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-252-09097-4 |location=Urbana |oclc=809471478 |access-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202002309/https://search.worldcat.org/title/809471478 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 1979, he was honored with the [[Eugene V. Debs Award]] for Social Justice by the [[Eugene V. Debs Foundation]], in [[Terre Haute, Indiana]].

In 1980, Pete Seeger performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The performance was later released by Smithsonian Folkways as the album ''Singalong Sanders Theater, 1980''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://folkways.si.edu/pete-seeger/singalong-sanders-theater-1980/american-folk-struggle-protest/music/album/smithsonian|title=Singalong Sanders Theater, 1980|website=Smithsonian Folkways Recordings|access-date=November 1, 2018|archive-date=November 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101181228/https://folkways.si.edu/pete-seeger/singalong-sanders-theater-1980/american-folk-struggle-protest/music/album/smithsonian|url-status=live}}</ref>