Commentary
We could use another Woody Guthrie right about now
by Atom RobinsonAtom Robinson is a musician and community organizer. He lives in St. Paul.
As we approach the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie's birth this Saturday, I've been revisiting his music and thinking about the world in which he wrote it and the world we live in now.
It's easy to take his music for granted. Schoolchildren know the words to "This Land is Your Land," and most folks would recognize the sing-songy chorus to "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You." As Pete Seeger says, Woody's songs "are deceptively simple... Any fool can get complicated. It takes a genius to attain simplicity."
I grew up with Woody's music. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the floor in front of my mom's stereo, watching the record spin around and listening to "Do Re Mi." It's a song about the struggles faced by the Okies who tried to escape the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. They were dreaming of a better life in California. If you listen to "Do Re Mi" now, you'll hear the plight of today's economic refugees, migrant workers who cross into the United States from Mexico. The place names are different, but the message is the same.
"Pretty Boy Floyd" is another song whose lyrics sound fresh and relevant. If he were alive today, Woody might have written the Internet meme, "Give a man a gun, he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, he can rob the world." Here's what he wrote instead:
Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.
Last year I got to help lead union members and their friends in song at the Minnesota State Capitol. This was during the time of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's assault on collective bargaining by public employees. Of course we sang, "This Land is Your Land." Few people knew the words to all the verses, but thousands of voices echoed through the Capitol on the choruses. It was a humbling, powerful experience. I think it's what Woody would've wanted.
His songs seem fresh and real to me, but I worry that they're becoming cultural and historical artifacts. We need new artists to step forward and raise their voices against injustice. At the centennial of his birth, Woody would want us to get organized and carry on his fight. Singing's not enough, but it's a start.
Comments (7)
Amen Atom!
Atom: Thank you very much for putting this important holiday on my calendar and for a great piece. We need another Woody Guthrie, for sure, but we have so much from him we can make do for now.
Imagine if that (This Land is Your Land) had become our national anthem...! Here's to Woody's 100th
If Woody Guthrie was alive today, he would be singing in support of Scott Walker, standing by him, helping to stop the Unions from using the State Government to rob the middle class citizens.
The struggle of the People has always been the struggle against big government.
The Okies were beaten by batons wielded by the State Police.
As were the Occupy kids.
As were the French Revolutionaries.
And the Russian.
It is always the State, the Big Government, that the People must fight.
Government employees, using the power of the State to steal the money of the middle class, is no better than Marie Antoinette, the Romanoffs, Stalin, Pol Pot, or any of the other oppressors and thieves throughout history, all devils, all big government. Unions are the current thugs of government. Sing out against them. Woody would.
I agree- any time is a good time for that; however, the mold was busted a long time ago. I have been learning some of his music on accordion lately- but was oblivious to the upcoming anniversary! Weird!
Woody Guthrie's songs reflected both the oppression- and the joys! he saw around him in his travels throughout these sorta United States. He was a patriot, a veteran, a comedian, a believer in the wonder and wisdom of children, and someone who recognized the threats to Democracy posed by the unfathomable greed of those who conveniently forget that "labor creates all wealth." Unions were, and are, essential in the fight to give all workers a voice in fighting back against greed and abuse, and Guthrie was a passionate supporter of unions and their mission. Nowadays there are many artists of all kinds who have been raising their voices in the Woody Guthrie manner, voices that have been mostly been drowned out by the noise of shopping malls and fear-mongers. But they are there. And they are getting louder. Thanks for this birthday reminder, Atom. I also think that Woody Guthrie would love to hear his songs hollered in rotundas everywhere that belong to you and me.
"I love a good man outside the law,
just as much as I hate a bad man inside the law." -WG
The world still needs Woody Guthrie! He stood up for the little man and the working class. He fought for the rights of the common person and helped spread the ideal that this is truly "our land." I paid tribute to the legendary musician with a portrait of Woody which you can see on my artist's blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/07/woody-guthrie-centennial.html where you can drop by and let me know how Woody's voice has spoken to you as well.
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