Art Quote by Pete Seeger
“In the United States, many people said you can't have folk music in the United States because you don't have any peasant class. But the funny thing was, there were literally thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who loved old time fiddling, ballads, banjo tunes, blues played on the guitar, spirituals and gospel hymns. These songs and music didn't fit into any neat category of art music nor popular music nor jazz. So gradually they said well let's call it folk music.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Folk Music Origins, 1970s, PBS Documentary
People claimed folk music couldn't exist in the US without a peasant class, yet many loved traditional fiddling, ballads, blues, and gospel, leading to the creation of the folk category.
In simple terms: Traditional songs thrived despite lacking a formal class, prompting the folk label.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and value grassroots music traditions.
Themes
culture
music
identity
heritage
Mood
reflective
proud
Type
cultural
historical
When to use this quote
- music festivals
- community gatherings
- educational curricula
- archival projects
Key Concepts
folk tradition
cultural appropriation
genre formation
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we honor origins while evolving music?
- What defines “folk” today?
A Different Perspective
Genre labels can oversimplify diverse traditions.
![“He [Alan Lomax] started right off trying to find people who could introduce folk songs to city people. He found a young actor named Burl Ives and said, "Burl, you know a lot of great country songs learned from your grandmother, don't you know people would love to hear them?" He put on radio…” quote by Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/59e/pete-seeger-1942_actors_he-alan-lomax-started-right-off-trying-t_1712245.jpg)
