From '' If I Had A Hammer ''
Label: AVC -- AV-015
Format: Vinyl, 12\"
Country: Spain
Released: 1988
Tracklist
A If I Had A Hammer (Remix)
B1 If I Had A Hammer (Radio Version)
B2 Just Shadows On The Wall
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\"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.
Early versions
The song 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.
Other versions
The song has since been recorded by dozens of major artists, including a version by Trini Lopez on his 1963 album Trini Lopez at PJ's, which reached No. 3 in the USA, as well as one by Leonard Nimoy, which appeared on his 1968 release The Way I Feel.
Australian folk group The Seekers also performed the song, and recorded it in 1963.
A more recent example is the reggae-style cover released by BBC personality Handy Andy, which was not particularly well received.
French popstar Claude François released his cover \"Si j'avais un marteau\" (\"If I had a Hammer\") in November 1963.
The French vocal group Les Surfs released another cover \"Si j'avais un marteau\" in a version faithful to that of Trini Lopez
Italian popstar Rita Pavone sang \"Datemi un martello\" (\"Give me a hammer\") in 1963, using the theme but without any political overtones.
Chilean Folk Artist Víctor Jara also sang a 1969 cover titled \"El Martillo\" (\"The hammer\") on his album Pongo En Tus Manos Abiertas.
Jamaican Toaster U-Roy recorded a very violent version of the song called \"Hammering\" in 1972
Nicaraguan singer, song writer and composer Hernaldo Zúñiga, also made a cover version in Spanish for the Mexican group \"Fandango\" titled \"Dame Aquel Martillo\", this one was released in 1991.
Israeli singer Geula Gil also made a cover version in Hebrew.
Another version can be found on Kidsongs video and DVD, \"Yankee Doodle Boy (AKA Sing Out America)\".
Another version of the song was recorded by AC/DC's lead singer Brian Johnson.
Sam Cooke recorded the song in concert.
The Von Trapp Children also recorded their version for their vol. 2 CD.
Waldemar Matuška Kladivo (czech Hammer)
Legacy
The song \"If I Had a Hammer\" was a Civil Rights anthem of the American Civil Rights movement.
It also was a common selection for \"folk masses\" in Roman Catholic Churches.[citation needed]
Wikileaks has chosen it as their \"Wikileaks song\".
In popular culture
Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Aaron, whose nicknames included \"Hammerin' Hank\" and \"The Hammer\", titled his autobiography, I Had a Hammer.
\"If I Had a Hammer\" is a fourth season episode of Dexter in which the eponymous character is investigating a serial killer's use of a hammer.
\"If I Had a Tail-Hammer\" is a second season episode of Digimon.
Peter, Paul & Mary's version of the song is used in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind during a sequence in which \"Gong Show\" host Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) has an on-air nervous breakdown due to his years as a CIA assassin, and visualizes the entire audience as dead bodies.
In May 2005, colleagues of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay sang \"If I Had a Hammer\" at a dinner held in support of him during the investigation that eventually led to his indictment on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to violate election law. The song was chosen in reference to his nickname \"The Hammer.\"
On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart joked about the dissonance between the song's progressive history and DeLay's conservative politics, saying, \"If Tom DeLay actually had a hammer, he would bludgeon Pete Seeger to death.\"
\"If Al Had a Hammer\" is a sixth season episode of Married... with Children. Also, in a fifth season episode, \"You Better Shop Around, Part I\", Marcy tells Al: We sang our favorite folk songs like, \"If I Had A Hammer, I'd Drive It Through Al Bundy's Skull\".
\"Steve's Hammer (For Pete)\" by Steve Earle references Seeger's song through its title and its content
Israeli hip-hop band \"Hadag Nahash\" based its top-chart single \"אף אחד\" (\"Nobody\") on the song.
