Posted on Dec 23, 2022
Kids weren't always 'Free to Be... You and Me' — here's a look at its legacy, at 50
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https://www.npr.org/2022/11/21/ [login to see] /celebrating-the-50th-anniversary-of-free-to-be-you-and-me
Fifty years ago this year, the album Free to Be... You and Me was released. It was a personal project that would go on to become a gold record, a television special, a book, a foundation, and the anthem of a generation. The opening song, with its jangly banjo and skipping rhythm, lays out a vision of a kids utopia:
There's a land that I see
where the children are free.
And I say it ain't far
to this land from where we are.
Fifty years ago this year, the album Free to Be... You and Me was released. It was a personal project that would go on to become a gold record, a television special, a book, a foundation, and the anthem of a generation. The opening song, with its jangly banjo and skipping rhythm, lays out a vision of a kids utopia:
There's a land that I see
where the children are free.
And I say it ain't far
to this land from where we are.
Kids weren't always 'Free to Be... You and Me' — here's a look at its legacy, at 50
Posted from npr.org
Freedom
Children
Reading
Music
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
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Interesting. I never heard of it — and I’m in my late 50s — but I recognize the names!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
MSgt Dee Ann P. I'm starting to Understand I'm Older than Dirt! Soon to be 65 and Oldest Granddaughter Soon to be 19!
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MSgt Dee Ann P.
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel - it’s funny you say “older than dirt.” My daughter asked me one time how old God is and I said, “He’s older than dirt.” She asked me, “How do you know?” I said, “He created dirt.”
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."When this album came out, its hope for a better world was palpable. And some like Ms. magazine co-founder Letty Cottin Pogregin, are dismayed about what still hasn't changed — or has backslid. "I wish someday it would be looked at as some weird antique representing another era," sighs Cottin Pogrebin.
Since 1972 there have been huge changes when it comes to gender and family in this country. Some of the album is dated. But so much of it still resonates — both because of what hasn't changed, and because of what will always be a question for people growing up, even in the most free of societies.
"Every generation needs this album or something like it because the issues are the same," says Marlo Thomas. "The world continues to question these things, and I think we have to be ready with the answers."
..."When this album came out, its hope for a better world was palpable. And some like Ms. magazine co-founder Letty Cottin Pogregin, are dismayed about what still hasn't changed — or has backslid. "I wish someday it would be looked at as some weird antique representing another era," sighs Cottin Pogrebin.
Since 1972 there have been huge changes when it comes to gender and family in this country. Some of the album is dated. But so much of it still resonates — both because of what hasn't changed, and because of what will always be a question for people growing up, even in the most free of societies.
"Every generation needs this album or something like it because the issues are the same," says Marlo Thomas. "The world continues to question these things, and I think we have to be ready with the answers."
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