“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” originally written for Peggy Seeger by Ewan MacColl in 1957, is considered one of the greatest love ballads of the twentieth century.
In 1962, Peggy released a recording of the song on her and Ewan’s Folkways LP The New Briton Gazette, Vol. 2. It has been recorded by a number of artists over the years including Roberta Flack, whose version became a breakout international hit in 1972, winning Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Peggy has recorded the song multiple times throughout her career, with a 1983 version appearing on her album Folkways Years: 1955-1992: Songs of Love and Politics. Her most recent rendition was released last year, prompting her to reflect:
“I’ve had two life partners, one male and one female, and I have three children and nine grandchildren. I’ve come to realise that the lyrics can be interpreted in so many ways. Ewan wrote the tune to mimic the heartbeat of someone wildly in love and I used to feel like a soaring bird when I sang this song. Now I’m grounded within it and that makes me happy.”
Learn more: s.si.edu/3UCFMiP
Photo of Peggy Seeger courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
