Friendly folks drift in and out of my campground every week. Some I chat with, some I sit with, some I only wave to and later find myself regretting the brevity. Sundays are generally move-out days for our campers, but some even started for home today, Saturday. And I find myself singing this song:
Memory is an odd thing… like peanuts in a jar, the tiny ones drift to the bottom and the big ones float to the top. It’s hard to imagine Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman were ever the big peanuts in my jar of memories, but here they are on a Saturday evening before Sunday’s camper exodus.
For those who think folk music began with The Beatles and ‘Bang Bang Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, this song was written in the 1930s by Woody Guthrie, folk singer extraordinaire and father of balladeer Arlo Guthrie. Woody’s original was all about the dust bowl — historically important but less fun than The Weavers’ version.
So, to departing campers (and for the benefit of those who know nothing of folk music), So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You.
(IF you’re interested, kids, other great folk songs — that float to the top of my memory jar — include Where Have All The Flowers Gone, This Land Is Your Land, Tom Dooley, If I Had A Hammer, Log Driver’s Waltz (Canadian entry) and anything by The Kingston Trio.)
What happens if you play album backwards? We’re gonna give it a try and see if we get you back sooner. (p.s. I had to Google backward to see if the “s” belonged or not. I think it does. LOL)