She’s been writing, recording and performing deeply meaningful songs for more than a half a century. At 76, Buffy Sainte-Marie still delivers that intensely affecting vibrato and that fearless pursuit of justice.
As evidenced by her latest album, the brilliant “Power in the Blood,” Sainte-Marie pours her heart into musically diverse, lyrically insightful songs. At Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall on Sept. 22, she’ll perform memorable tunes from throughout her career.
Her songbook includes protest numbers such as “Universal Soldier” and “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.” Sainte-Marie penned the exquisite love song, “Until It’s Time For You to Go,” which has been recorded by dozens of legendary artists, including Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley. She co-wrote the Academy Award-winning pop smash “Up Where We Belong.”
Sainte-Marie, a Cree from Canada, has been a tireless activist, bringing to light the enslavement and genocide of indigenous North Americans. She has sung for peace, the environment and other vital issues. She believes that music can make an impact.
“A song sure can change the perspective of individuals — and sometimes millions of individuals,” Sainte-Marie says. “So we can influence large numbers of people. A three-minute song can do more than a textbook in that it’s immediate and replicable, catchy and mutable into all kinds of styles that other artists can give to their own audiences. Songs have always been rather viral in that way. I have six bags of mail regarding ‘Universal Soldier’ from people saying that that song changed their lives for the better, so that’s heartening.”
“Universal Soldier” remains as relevant as the day it was when it was released on her 1964 debut album.
“He’s five feet two and he’s six feet four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He’s all of 31 and he’s only 17
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years”
“That’s pretty disturbing considering that, after World War I and World War II, and after Vietnam, people thought the lesson had been learned,” Sainte-Marie says. “I think my peers just thought that peace was in the bag now, got lazy, bought SUVs and tuned out. But the termites just keep on chewing. Peace demands vigilance, which is what Bernie Sanders seems to understand, while party politicians continue to exploit us.”
Sainte-Marie has a new album, “Medicine Songs,” due in November. One of the tracks is titled “The War Racket.” It exposes those who profit from tragedy.
“Whether it’s a war or a natural disaster, something that’s preventable or something that’s caused, there are people whose interests are in showing up and taking advantage.”
Socially conscious songs are heard far less often than in the 1960s, when Sainte-Marie was gaining notice in Greenwich Village. “I can’t figure out why more songwriters don’t speak out, except if it gets trendy and they think it’ll make a buck. They certainly have the talent. But maybe they’re just smarter than me, afraid of risking their careers — which is a valid point, since I apparently was eliminated from the U.S. airwaves by two presidential administrations whose cronies made sure the public did not hear my stronger points of view.”
She found out, 20 years after the fact, that in the ’60s and ’70s, members of the Johnson and Nixon administrations, and the head of the FBI, tried to keep this outspoken artist from being heard.
Sainte-Marie says, “People ask me if it makes me hate the U.S. government. Of course not. It’s not as if Congress passed an act to suppress me or people like me. A couple of guys in two administrations go in the back room and make nasty phone calls to their cronies at the networks. And it’s over. The public is denied my music. Next time I’m invited onto ‘The Tonight Show,’ the producers specify that I shouldn’t talk about indigenous anything or alternative conflict resolution, but just stick to celebrity chat.
“J. Edgar Hoover did a lot of damage in keeping indigenous activism and peace geniuses under wraps. Eartha Kitt got it too, so did Taj Mahal, but the public never knew what they were denied.”
So Sainte-Marie performed in Europe, Australia and her homeland, Canada, where she is an icon. “But not in the U.S., where 20 years after it was over, I found out Johnson and Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover had made me invisible and inaudible. Most Americans figured I’d died or quit or something. Anyway, I was happy on the periphery.”
But this is a voice that cannot be stilled. In 1975, Sainte-Marie found a new audience, when she began a five-year run on “Sesame Street.”
“The people who started ‘Sesame Street’ were so smart and so tender. They never exploited me and they accepted my script ideas on breast feeding, sibling rivalry, indigenous culture, without a blink. I’ve always loved them for being truly child centered, like Mr. Rogers in those days, too.”
Some grown-ups have helped create chaos in our current world. But Sainte-Marie keeps the faith.
“Not everybody is totally overwhelmed to a state of paralysis. People are able to find ways to help, and care to help, more than ever before in the world. But it’s still not enough to overcome the giants of Bozoism. Every now and then, because the rest of us aren’t paying attention, they come to power.
“Five years ago, fewer people had a clear picture of racism, party politics, big business as king, than now. That’s painful, but it is a kind of progress. I say ‘The good news about the bad news is that more people know about it now.’”
Sainte-Marie faces the world’s wrongs not with anger and bitterness, but with courage and compassion. Some of her songs stand as searing examinations of our society’s flaws. But she also imbues her music with hope and beauty.
“That double-think thing comes naturally to me. I think it’s partly that I’m a woman and a multi-tasker. I just see the potential solution even when it’s raining problems. Also, as a teacher, you don’t want to give people the information in an enema,” says Sainte-Marie, who has a degree in education, as well as one in oriental philosophy and a Ph.D. in fine arts.
“In most of my songs, I’m aware of the listener and I’m just trying to deliver the information in an engaging, entertaining way they really dig.”
The recipient of Canada’s top musical honor, the Polaris Prize, and founder of the Nihewan Foundation for American Indian Education, Sainte-Marie, despite unflinchingly viewing the world’s ills, maintains an innate sense of optimism.
“I’ve got a little thing that I always say – keep your nose on the joy trail.”
Email Paul Freeman at paul@popcultureclassics.com.
Music
Who: Buffy Sainte-Marie
Where: Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 (pre-show talk at 6:30 p.m.)
Tickets: $15-$65; www.live.stanford.edu or 650-724-2464
Artist website: www.buffysainte-marie.com