Today, let’s celebrate a song of hope and unity – Get Together.
Released during the turbulent 1960s, when the world was grappling with war, civil rights struggles, and social upheaval, Get Together became an anthem for peace movements, urging people to embrace love as the only real solution to hatred and division. It still resonates today, reminding us that the world needs kindness and understanding just as much as it did back then.
“Let’s Get Together”, also known as “Get Together” and “Everybody Get Together”, is a song written in the mid-1960s by the American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (stage name Dino Valenti), from the psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. A hit version by the Youngbloods, included on their 1967 debut album The Youngbloods, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.
Background The song is an appeal for peace and brotherhood, presenting the polarity of love versus fear, and the choice to be made between them. It is best remembered for the impassioned plea in the lines of its refrain (“Come on people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love one another right now”), which is repeated several times in succession to bring the song to its conclusion.
Love is but a song we sing Fear’s the way we die You can make the mountains ring Or make the angels cry Though the bird is on the wing And you may not know why
Come on, people now Smile on your brother Everybody get together Try to love one another right now
Some may come and some may go He will surely pass When the one that left us here Returns for us at last We are but a moment’s sunlight Fading in the grass
Come on, people now Smile on your brother Everybody get together Try to love one another right now
If you hear the song I sing You will understand, listen You hold the key to love and fear All in your trembling hand Just one key unlocks them both It’s there at your command
Chet Powers
Chester William Powers, Jr. (October 7, 1937 – November 16, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, and under the stage names Dino Valenti or Dino Valente, one of the lead singers of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. As a songwriter, he was known as Jesse Oris Farrow. He is best known for having written the quintessential 1960s love-and-peace anthem “Get Together”.
By 1963, Valenti/Powers moved to Los Angeles, where many luminaries in the imminent folk rock movement had already begun to coalesce. During this period, he wrote and popularized “Let’s Get Together”. Frequently covered as “Get Together”, the song was performed by a diverse array of groups throughout the decade, including The Kingston Trio, We Five, The Back Porch Majority, The Dave Clark Five, H. P. Lovecraft, Jefferson Airplane and in particular The Youngbloods, whose 1967 rendition peaked at No. 5.
Powers’ career was blighted by several drug busts. After an arrest for possession of marijuana, he was searched again by police (who found more marijuana and amphetamines in his apartment) while awaiting trial. He received a one-to-ten-year sentence served in part at Folsom State Prison. To raise money for his defense, he sold the publishing rights for “Get Together” to Frank Werber, the manager of The Kingston Trio.
Get Together fits beautifully into the ethos of WLBOTT, as both share a deep appreciation for unity, humor, and resilience in the face of absurdity. While the song leans toward idealistic peace and harmony, WLBOTT takes a more twine-entangled approach, using wit and satire to expose the chaos of modern life while still championing kindness and camaraderie.
Emphasizing the Power of Choice
The song reminds us that we choose between love and fear. WLBOTT, in its own way, also chooses laughter over despair, constructing a fictional corporation of mostly evil tendencies just to mock the absurdity of real-world late-stage capitalism.
Just as the song urges people to love one another right now, WLBOTT Elders spread peace through twine, knowing that even the smallest absurdity can bring people together.
Finding Hope in a Fractured World
Both WLBOTT and Get Together acknowledge the darkness of human history, but neither succumbs to cynicism. Instead, they offer an alternative way forward—whether through sincere calls for unity or through satirical rituals involving the blessing of eggs.
In a world obsessed with division, WLBOTT’s response is to create an imaginary twine-based utopia and Get Together responds by urging us to embrace peace. Both, in their own way, are acts of defiance against the status quo.
A Conversation with Elder G
WLBOTT: G, how would you counter the argument that the themes of “Get Together” are naive?
Elder G: That’s a great question, UC#4. The argument that Get Together is naive usually comes from a perspective that sees the world as inherently divided, cynical, or driven by self-interest. Critics might argue that “love one another right now” is an oversimplification of deep-seated conflicts, human nature, or historical injustices. However, there are strong counterarguments to this skepticism:
1. Hope Is Not Naïveté; It’s Strategy
Dismissing Get Together as naive assumes that realism must always be cynical, but history shows that hope, unity, and shared ideals have led to real change.
Movements like the Civil Rights Movement, anti-apartheid efforts, and even resistance against oppressive regimes often began with simple but powerful calls for unity and justice. – Choosing to believe in a better world isn’t naive—it’s strategic. Without it, what motivation would there be for change?
2. The Alternative—Cynicism—Doesn’t Get Us Anywhere
If unity and love are dismissed as naive, what’s the alternative? Division, bitterness, and stagnation? – Cynicism, while often seen as intellectual maturity, can lead to passivity and inaction—a sense that things are broken beyond repair.
WLBOTT, much like Get Together, embraces humor, absurdity, and connection as a response to life’s challenges. If we must choose between despair and ridiculous optimism, why not tie it all together with twine?
3. The Song Doesn’t Ignore Hard Truths
Some might say that Get Together ignores real violence, inequality, and human conflict, but the lyrics suggest otherwise.
“You hold the key to love and fear / All in your trembling hand.” This line acknowledges the fragility of choice and the reality that people often default to fear rather than love. – The song doesn’t say peace is easy—it says peace is possible. That’s a big difference.
4. History Shows That Radical Love Has Worked
Figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Václav Havel championed love and unity—not because they were naïve, but because they knew those values had real power.
Many of the greatest social changes in history weren’t driven by “realists” who accepted things as they were—they were driven by idealists who believed the world could be different.
5. Small Actions Have a Ripple Effect
Dismissing Get Together as naive assumes that the song is demanding world peace overnight. But really, it’s a call for individuals to make small choices toward kindness.
Love, unity, and humor aren’t about flipping a switch and fixing everything instantly—they’re about changing our daily habits, interactions, and mindsets.
6. Even If It’s Naïve, So What?
There’s a WLBOTT-style response to this whole argument: If believing in love and unity is naive, then let’s be gloriously naive together.
If people want to call it foolish, fine—but let’s at least be foolish in the direction of making things better rather than wallowing in the mess.
Meanwhile, let’s keep spreading Peace Thru Twine™ and laughing so we don’t cry!
