Rhiannon Giddens joins forces with singer-songwriter Crys Matthews and the Resistance Revival Chorus—a collective of women and non-binary singers—for a reimagining of folk icon Peggy Seeger’s “How I Long for Peace.” The new recording was released today, timed to tomorrow’s National Voter Registration Day. 

Seeger's "How I Long for Peace," penned over two decades ago and released in 2021, strikes a chord with its yearning for a more just and peaceful world. Its message is particularly relevant during voting season, reminding us that our choices at the ballot box directly impact the future we create. Released in partnership with Joy To The Polls and HeadCount, this powerful rendition, recorded together in Brooklyn last month, serves as a call for community and civic engagement during election season. Joy To The Polls will also use “How I Long for Peace” to kick off a campaign calling on artists to write their own songs, imagining the world they want to see and create.

O how I long for peace
Among the peoples and the nation
How I long to halt the plunder
Of the wonders of creation
O how I long for peace

“Rhiannon, Crys, and Company have done an amazing interpretation of my song 'How I Long for Peace,'" Peggy Seeger says. "It really works and will take this simple song to new levels. Thank you, Rhiannon, as always—now it’s on its way!”

“When Crys asked me to collaborate on this with her I got really excited," Rhiannon Giddens says. "I have been a longtime Peggy Seeger fan and think she has written an incredible song that says some hard but crucial things and most importantly allows space for us all to wish for a better world.”

“While participating in the Library of Congress Archive Challenge, I came across a live video of Peggy Seeger singing 'How I Long for Peace,'" Crys Matthews explains. "The words were so poignant and relevant even though the video I was watching was from 2007, which was almost a decade before I had stumbled across it. I fell in love with it and adapted it to feel like how I would sing it in my family's church, because that is where I first learned about social justice music and freedom songs. I carried that song with me for many years and then, one day, after seeing a post on Rhiannon's Instagram about a student-led, antiwar demonstration she had witnessed while giving a commencement address, I sent it to her. Next thing you know, she and I are in a studio in NYC singing it with the Resistance Revival Chorus.

"I truly hope this song will be a balm for the folks who, like us and like Peggy, are longing for and actively striving for peace," Matthews continues. "May we all continue to envision a world where lasting peace is finally realized.”