Farewell Mary Travers (1936 – 2009)

One of the first few songs that I learnt when I started playing the guitar was “Blowing In The Wind” and “500 Miles.” Those were the songs that, although haunting and sad in some ways, sounded very nice with just a guitar and vocals. Those were the songs that I could sing and play from memory. That was back in the early 1980s.

It is with great sadness that I read in the news and other blogs today that Mary Travers of the Peter, Paul and Mary trio has passed away. She was 72. Little did I realise until this moment that many of the songs that I liked to play on the guitar were the trio’s songs – Leaving On A Jet Plane, Where Have The Flowers Gone and House Of The Rising Sun.

I must say that it was the songs of Peter, Paul and Mary that made playing the guitar and singing such a joy for me when I was a teenager. Those were the songs that I sang at campfires, when I was alone, when I was sad and when I was happy. Thank you for the memories. RIP Mary. Your songs shall live on.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

One thought on “Farewell Mary Travers (1936 – 2009)”

  1. My favourite song- blowing in the wind.Their rendition of lemon tree was nice but i prefer the version by trini lopez.
    I still have their albums.Play them when i feel like going back to my teenage years.We’ve lost a number of legends these last 2 years.It makes you think about the finiteness of life and how far you have come in the journey of life that the icons and markers in your life have come and left the stage.

    Peter:
    Sad…

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