RIP David Mallett + Pete Seeger’s Take on his “Garden Song”

post 68 - The Story Behind the Song

DAVID MALLETT SINGS THE GARDEN SONG

Last week we lost one of the finest folk musicians of the past sixty years. David Mallet died last Wednesday. He was 73 years old.

I did not know him personally, nor am I familiar with his repertoire. But I am well-acquainted with his most famous composition, “The Garden Song.” I had the incredible fortune to sing it more than once with Pete Seeger. Pete changed up some of the original lyrics, and after a couple of back-and-forths, Pete and I sang an even further changed-up version.

COSMETIC CHANGE

Most of the changes Pete made were cosmetic – meaning, he changed a word here or there because it rhymed better on that particular day, or it was more neutral, and maybe he used a different word in its place on a different day. But one major change he made was profound. And it tells a lot about who Pete Seeger was and what he had to teach us.

The original first four lines of the Garden Song, as recorded by David Mallett are:

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground

This was an excellent start to an excellent song. Who could see any flaws in this? Who could come up with anything better? Well, the answer to both questions is Pete Seeger.

BIRDS AND SONGS

Pete described a song as similar to a bird. Imagine you look up and see a dove in mid-flight. You might take a picture or create a mental memory. But wherever that bird was when you first saw it, it is no longer there. Putting Pete’s story through the “folk process,” I came up with this: The bird was somewhere else before it got there, and it got somewhere else after it was there. In other words, the bird being alive, is always in a state of change.

A song can have a similar life. It can evolve from one singing to the next. The original lyrics were fine, but, being alive, they were ripe for change. And when I set out to learn the words so I could sing them with Pete, red flags popped up right away.

Really? All you need is a rake and a hoe? I get the sentiment. But don’t we need more than that? You need seeds and good weather. And, can’t we do the job without a rake or a hoe? You can dig good soil with your hands. It may sound nitpicky, but Pete was very particular about telling stories accurately.

PROFOUND CHANGE

And what about that fertile ground? Are we to search around for fertile ground and when we find it, grab it up before the next person gets there? In life, do we only search for opportunities and take them? Perhaps there’s a virtue to this. But Pete saw something more powerful:

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground

When Pete shared these words with me, it affirmed what I already knew. Pete was a master, a sage, a “Wisdom Catcher.” The wisdom I found in these new words is profound:

MAKE YOUR OWN FERTILE GROUND!

I imagine stumbling upon fertile ground or some grand opportunity is wonderful. But we can make these ourselves. And how do we do this?

MULCH IT!

Use food scraps, natural debris, and poop - that’s right, poop - to create compost and mulch. Then, use the compost and mulch to create fertile ground.

But it goes deeper than that. Pete advocated looking for value in all things that are usually discarded and seeing if we can repurpose them into something new and useful. If we can use something as lowly as poop to make a garden grow, imagine what we can do with other things most people see as valueless.

A bumper sticker on my guitar case says “Compost Happens.” It’s also true that one man’s poop can be another man’s fertilizer. Literally and figuratively. So mulch your garden and make it fertile ground. Meanwhile…

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