Music Monday: Sailin' Up, Sailin' Down

May marks the birthday month of the sloop Clearwater, which was launched on May 17, 1969 in South Bristol, Maine. To celebrate, we thought we'd share another Pete Seeger song, but this one in a little more informal setting. 

On morning of August 21, 2010 Pete Seeger, Lorre Wyatt and friends gathered aboard the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater to film their performance of the new song "God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You." After the filming, while the Clearwater was docking, they had an impromptu jam session that included this song "Sailin' Up, Sailin' Down." Pete Seeger played banjo and took two solos. Lorre Wyatt played acoustic guitar and sang a verse.

Pete passed away in 2014, but his legacy lives on. We were fortunate to have him involved in and present for the construction of the Kingston Homeport and Education Center right here at the Hudson River Maritime Museum - that building is shared with Clearwater, which uses it as their winter home port.  

"Sailin' Up, Sailin' Down" Lyrics
Sailing up (sailing up), sailing down (sailing down)
Up (down), down (up!) - up and down the river
Sailing on - stopping all along the way
The river may be dirty now but it's getting cleaner every day

People come (people come), people go (people go)
Come (go), go (come) - up and down the river
Sailing on - stopping all along the way
The river may be dirty now but it's getting cleaner every day

Garbage here (garbage here), garbage there (garbage there)
Here (there), there (here) - up and down the river
Sailing on - stopping all along the way
The river may be dirty now but it's getting cleaner every day

Catching fish (catching fish), catching cold (catching cold)
Cold (fish), fish (cold) - up and down the river
Sailing on - stopping all along the way
The river may be dirty now but it's getting cleaner every day

People come (people come), people go (people go)
Come (go), go (come) - up and down the river
Sailing on - stopping all along the way
The river may be dirty now but it's getting cleaner every day


Clearwater needs your help just as much as we do. You can donate to support them to make sure they're around for another 50 years!
​
Stay tuned for a "History of the Clearwater," which will be posted this Thursday, May 14, 2020 in honor of Clearwater's birthday.

For an overview of the construction of Clearwater and her launching, you can visit our online exhibit "Rescuing the River: 50 Years of Environmental Activism on the Hudson." 

Did you ever sail aboard Clearwater? Did you ever sing this song with Pete? Share your memories in the comments!

Thanks to HRMM volunteer Mark Heller for sharing his knowledge of Hudson River music history for this series.

---

​​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​

Donate Now

Join Today