Peter Yarrow was a Folk Singer, an Activist, and a Worldly Leader who took a stand and tried to heal the world. His music was the Hammer, Peter, Paul, and Mary used to ” Hammer out love for his brothers and his sisters.” Peter was my Godfather or Uncle, as he would say. He was more like another parent. He was the only one I actually listened to. I needed him to keep me focused on changing the world without selling out. He came into my life when I was 17. I had a lot of energy and desire to change the world. He told me to keep my views and do it my way. He told me it wasn’t the number of people I touched, it was how I touched them. Teen Say may not have been on a major channel, but I changed lives. I helped small groups one at a time and got to be a stay-at-home Mom for 4 great children instead of selling out and doing it their way. Peter was the one I called when the world didn’t make sense. I didn’t like politics. I would call him, and we would discuss major events in life, like 9/11, School Shootings, and ugly campaigns or terrible division in the world. He would comfort me and tell me what I could do to help.
I loved it when Peter and his daughter Bethany sang, “The Children are Listening.” Peter loved the children. He spent his life trying to help them.
He started “Operation Respect.” The Bullying campaign for schools that he hoped would unite kids through singing together and teaching them compassion for each other’s differences. The song, “Don’t Laugh at Me,” spells out the mission he was trying to accomplish.
He helped the families of Sandy Hook after that awful elementary school shooting in 2012. He went to visit a Mom who lost her 6-year-old son. He taught her to keep her son alive by singing for him as well as the other children and teachers that died that terrible day. He did a fundraiser and helped so many with his giving heart. He loved the children and hated guns. He tried and sang with all his heart and taught others to sing out against guns for the world to hear.
Peter’s biggest accomplishment- in my eyes- was helping the teen survivors of Sandy Hook’s biggest Mass Shooting on Valentine’s Day in 2018 become activists to fight for stricter gun laws. They did a National Protest- “March for Our Lives” to stand up against gun violence and demand stricter laws. They had a large crowd join them. The leaders of tomorrow shook the world and took their trauma and gave it a voice. They created songs. They sang them loudly. They marched! Instead of Peter creating an anti-gun song for them, he asked them to Rise Up, Right the Wrong and Speak the Truth to Power! The words he always said! He went to Parkland, Florida, for 2 days with writers, musicians, and singers to help the teen survivors write poetry, sing, and help them share their feelings about guns and pain with the world. He funded their endeavors. He changed those teens’ lives. Those kids were touched by Peter Yarrow. They will continue to change the world and teach their kids to change the world.
Peter will never be forgotten by them or anyone else. His music will be heard “Blowing in the Wind,” and the hearts he touched will continue to speak their lessons from an incredible icon. I always told Peter he was a working Angel on Earth. It’s why God made him survive and sing again after terrible treatments with cancer. He never once spoke negatively or ungratefully. He inspired me while he was suffering when I had multiple myeloma and a broken spine. He did research and wanted to help. He always wanted to help others, people he loved and people he had never met. He changed the world. I wrote a song for him.
“The World Needs A Miracle.” The world needs a miracle. A song to sing along. A Note for the Tote. A reason for the Fight. A way to see the light. The World needs a miracle more than ever. Peter wanted to help the world with every breath he took and every song he sang. Sing People. Unite! Honor the Icon that tried to make the world a better place. I love you, Peter. I will never forget you!
Peter loved his life. He said, I loved my life, Sweetheart. Don’t be sad. You must continue to do the work I taught you to do as one of the kids I helped mold. Before he was too sick to talk to me in a manner of inspiration, guidance, and hope, he called to say goodbye. I said, No, but that is the way Peter was. He wanted to be the one who helped others. I begged him to let me be his cheerleader and rock for a change, and he refused. He said he had a great life, and he loved trying to make the world more loving and caring through his music. He loved it when people sang together. Sing for him and help change the world one person at a time, any way you can.