Number 2400: Remembering Mary Travers With Peter, Paul & Mary's Carry It On

Three years ago, my parents and I saw Peter, Paul and Mary in concert in Chautauqua, NY, a lovely community about an hour away from my house where, as is it happens, Peter Yarrow spent some time as a child. I'd been a fan of the trio for more than 15 years at that point, and they'd long been among the top bands I hoped to see in concert. Watching their Christmas special on PBS most years was a nice teaser, but I'm so glad that I was able to actually be there once and feel the energy emanating between the stage and the audience.

At that concert, I purchased a boxed set called Carry It On, which contains four discs and more than 80 of the trio's songs. Naturally, whoever was selling the souvenirs gave me the impression that this set was exclusively available through them, so I felt a little foolish when I got online the next day and found out I could have bought it from Amazon and saved about thirty dollars. But I was caught up in the moment, and these four discs get a lot of play in our minivan. Now, as I ruminate on the life and impact of Mary Travers, who died yesterday at the age of 72, it seems the perfect time to share my thoughts on this boxed set.

Carry It On reminds me of Old Friends, the Simon and Garfunkel collection I've just about played into the ground since we ordered it from Columbia House more than a decade ago. Through the songs and the detailed accompanying booklet, it takes fans through the band's history. Of course, while the Simon and Garfunkel set is fairly exhaustive, as they were really only a duo for half a dozen years, Peter, Paul and Mary's song catalog stretches across more than four decades. Nonetheless, chances are that you'll find your favorite Peter, Paul and Mary song here, especially if you're a casual fan.

Disc One

My introduction to Peter, Paul and Mary came the summer I stayed with my aunt Nancy. Every morning of my visit, I awoke to the dulcet tones of Peter, Paul and Mary in their folkiest phase, singing well-worn classics like the morose, yearning 500 Miles and If I Had a Hammer, one of the most jubilant songs of the civil rights movement. Both of those songs are found here, along with 20 others. Other standouts include the chipper Lemon Tree, so ironically referenced in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried; the childlike It's Raining, whose snoring old man I sang about on many a dreary day as a youngster; the forlorn anti-war anthem Where Have All the Flowers Gone, which my extended family sang at my great-grandpa's funeral dinner; and Puff, The Magic Dragon, perhaps the ultimate PPM song, which has been depressing me since I first heard it as a toddler and which, I still assert, has nothing to do with drugs.

This Land Is Your Land is another exuberant folk song, and of every song we sang at that 2006 concert, this tribute to the beauty and ideals of America had us singing the loudest. A'Soalin' harmoniously combines social justice with Christmas cheer and includes two of the band members' names in the process. Blowin' in the Wind forcefully demonstrates the fact that Bob Dylan's brilliant songwriting skills are best appreciated when his songs are interpreted by artists with less abrasive voices; I always think of this as the quintessential Dylan song and their version as the most iconic. Stewball is a cheerful, oddball song about an eccentric racehorse that gives Paul Stookey a chance to shine, while Paultalk is a pure stand-up comedy routine that reminds me a bit of something Bill Cosby might do.

Other songs on this disc include Early in the Morning / Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?; If I Had My Way; Autumn to May; Gone the Rainbow; Flora; Old Coat; Polly Von; All My Trials; Don't Think Twice, It's All Right and Freight Train.

Disc Two

Most of these songs come from quite early in the trio's repertoire as well. Bob Dylan is twice represented. When Simon and Garfunkel covered The Times They Are a Changin' on their first album, it sounded rushed and a bit shrill, but Peter, Paul and Mary's version rings with sincerity, and Mary's gentle delivery of the rebuke of the parents softens the song a great deal. When the Ship Comes In is a jubilant tune filled with biblical imagery, foreseeing a better day in the not-so-distant future. I don't know how big an impact PPM had on Dylan's career, but they brought many artists more recognition with their carefully crafted covers, among them Gordon Lightfoot, whose mournful Early Mornin' Rain and mocking For Lovin' Me are on this disc, and Tom Paxton, whose gently remorseful The Last Thing On My Mind is here. There's little question they helped launch John Denver's career with their rendition of Leaving on a Jet Plane, which appears on the third disc; they covered several of his other songs as well, with Mary often taking the lead, as she does on this disc's gentle For Baby (For Bobbie), the tender love song she reinterprets as a lullaby.

The first few songs on this disc are live tracks, which gives a good feel for how interactive their concerts could be. Blue is a hilarious number in which the trio, particularly Paul, spoof rock and roll by applying it to a traditional children's song. The audience eats it right up, prompting Paul to jovially point out that it's a satire. Oh, Rock My Soul and Come and Go With Me are both gospel songs in which the audience gets very involved. Both are songs I remember singing in church and grade school; their simple lyrics and catchy melodies make them ideal for large groups of people.

Another traditional favorite that turns up on this disc is Gilgarra Mountain, otherwise known as Whiskey in the Jar. Usually it's a rowdy drinking song, with Metallica's version particularly raucous, but Peter delivers it gently, with a soft Irish lilt and acoustic backing, making it by far the mellowest version I've heard, and my favorite. The Cruel War has Mary taking the lead as a woebegone young maiden desperate to join her love as he goes off to war. The ending seems happy, though I can't help but wonder what happens to the couple after they go forth into battle together. Mary also is prominent in And When I Die, a reflection on death that manages to be bleak and optimistic at the same time. This is the song that's been running through my head most since I heard the news of her death.

Other songs on this disc include Three Ravens; Jimmy Whalen; Wasn't That a Time; Monday Morning; San Francisco Bay Blues; First Time Ever I Saw Your Face; Il Faut Qu'Il Vienne le Temps (If I Were Free); Kisses Sweeter Than Wine; Hurry Sundown; Mon Vrai Destin and Well, Well, Well.

Disc Three

This disc tends to get the least play of the four, but it's still full of great tracks. The aforementioned Leaving on a Jet Plane, which wound up being Peter, Paul and Mary's only number one hit, is a definite standout. The Great Mandella and Conscientious Objector (I Shall Die) are songs that powerfully demonstrate the trio's opposition to war, while Day Is Done is a soothing lullaby that seems to take such frightening world events into consideration.

The Song Is Love is simple but lovely, and I Have a Song to Sing, O! is silly and chipper. Going to the Zoo is a boisterous, memorable children's song by Tom Paxton, as is Marvelous Toy, one of the most entertaining songs the trio recorded, though I prefer the version from their Christmas concert. Mary honors John Denver again with the warm, welcoming Follow Me, while Paul puts his commitment to Christianity to words with Wedding Song (There Is Love), which became the cornerstone of his charitable foundation.

The three come together joyously for Weave Me the Sunshine, which brims with optimism. I first encountered this song in the cartoon Puff the Magic Dragon, in which it forms the backdrop to a much more cheerful ending than the song offers. In my mind, it's always accompanied by trippy images, but I don't mind. It's probably my favorite track, with the possible exception of the witty I Dig Rock and Roll Music, in which the trio mercilessly skewers Donovan, the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas and the state of contemporary music in general.

Other songs on this disc include The Other Side of This Life / Single Girl; Sometime Lovin'; The Good Times We Had; No Other Name; House Song; Too Much of Nothing; Moments of Soft Persuasion; Hymn; Leatherwing Bat; Because All Men Are Brothers and By Surprise.

Disc Four

This collection of songs from their later years together has fewer tracks than any of the other discs, but it's the one we're most likely to listen through without skipping. Such Is Love is an especially harmonious ode to the value of mature love. Wild Places has a spiritual bent to it as well as an environmental message, while There But For Fortune encourages empathy for those on the fringes of society. Inspired by a newspaper article, the deceptively peppy El Salvador chronicles some of the atrocities taking place there, and No Easy Walk to Freedom enthusiastically embraces the struggles that come with working toward social justice, invoking such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Greenland Whale Fisheries is a tragic but oh-so-catchy sea shanty featuring glorious flute accompaniment, and Bob Dylan's It Ain't Me, Babe is a bitter song railing against unrealistic expectations in relationships. Children Go Where I Send Thee and Light One Candle are two of the most interactive songs from the Christmas album I grew up with. The first celebrates Christianity, the second Judaism, though it is just as much a social justice anthem as a remembrance of Hanukkah.

Peter, Paul and Mary have always had a rapport with children, and that especially comes across on this disc. Right Field features Paul, embracing his youthful side as he slips into the head of a clumsy kid who finally gets a shot at glory in game of baseball with his playmates. The Fox is a fast-paced folktale about a bushy-tailed father providing for his family, and The Garden Song, in which the trio is joined by a chorus of kids, is pleasantly repetitive, simply demonstrating the process by which a garden grows. The Kid, which I first heard on Art Garfunkel's Everything Waits to Be Noticed, is the epic reflection of a perpetual daydreamer, while It's Magic celebrates the remarkable moments everyday life can bring. Don't Laugh at Me, the final song in the collection, is the theme of their anti-bullying initiative. Taking the child's perspective, it explores all sorts of differences that might lead to teasing and encourages compassion instead of derision. Similarly, All Mixed Up celebrates unique elements of individual cultures while acknowledging the advantage of learning from each other.

Other songs on this disc include Greenwood; Pastures of Plenty and Mi Caballo.

Peter, Paul and Mary made an incredible mark on music for nearly half a century, and both through personal involvement and inspiration to others, they helped to bring about many positive changes in our world. Their deep affection for one another and their incredible talent fused to make them one of the most organic groups I've ever heard. They sounds as though they were born to find one another; even their names - with a slight tweaking on Noel Paul Stookey's part - fit together perfectly. With Mary's death, the world has lost one of its loveliest voices, and I can only imagine how bereft her longtime singing partners must feel. But what a rich legacy she left behind!