CONSTRUCTION chapter II

If I Had a Hammer

"If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" is a song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the progressive movement, and was first recorded by The Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman, and then by Peter, Paul and Mary. They released the song under the title "The Hammer Song" as a 78 single in March, 1950 on Hootenanny Records, 101-A, backed with "Banks of Marble".

The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and sold millions of records at the height of their popularity. Their hard-driving string-band style inspired the commercial "folk boom" that followed them in the 1950s and 1960s, including such performing groups as The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Peter, Paul and Mary were a United States folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. 

The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, (Noel) Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. After the death of Mary Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names.

Early versions

The song was first performed publicly by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays on June 3, 1949 at St. Nicholas Arena on W. 66th Street in New York at a testimonial dinner for the leaders of the Communist Party of the United States, who were then on trial in federal court, charged with violating the Smith Act by advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. It was not particularly successful when it was first released, likely due in part to the political climate of the time. It fared notably better when it was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary more than a decade later. Their cover of the song, released in August 1962, became a Top 10 hit.

Trini Lopez (born Trinidad López III, 15 May 1937) is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood.

His debut live album, Trini Lopez at PJ', was released in 1963. The album included a version of "If I Had a Hammer", which reached number one in 36 countries (No. 3 in the United States) and was a radio favorite for many years. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. He also performed his own version of the traditional Mexican song "La Bamba" on the album; his recording of the tune was later re-issued as a single in 1966.

Trini Lopez (born Trinidad López III, 15 May 1937) is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood.

If I had a hammer

If I had a hammer,

I'd hammer in the morning,

I'd hammer in the evening,

All over this land,

I'd hammer out danger,

I'd hammer out a warning,

I'd hammer out love between,

My brothers and my sisters,

All over this land.

If I had a bell,

I'd ring it in the morning,

I'd ring it in the evening,

All over this land,

I'd ring out danger,

I'd ring out a warning,

I'd ring out love between,

My brothers and my sisters,

All over this land.

If I had a song

I'd sing it in the morning

I'd sing it in the evening

all over this land

I'd sing out danger

I'd sing out warning

I'd sing out love between

my brothers and my sisters

all over this land

Well, I've got a hammer

and I've got a bell

and I've got a song to sing

all over this land

It's the hammer of justice

It's the bell of freedom

It's a song about love between my

brothers and my sisters

all over this land

It's the hammer of justice

It's the bell of freedom

It's a song about love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this la-a-and