"Take it easy, but take it" -- Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie: Poet of the People by Bonnie Christensen is a children's book with beautiful illustrations that frame the story of Woody's life around his most famous song "This Land is Your Land." It really just skims the surface of him, but it's a great introductory story to his life: his childhood, his political causes, his music, his wandering, his marriages, and his death in 1967.

I love a good man outside the law,
just as much as I hate a bad man inside the law.

-Woody Guthrie, "Pretty Boy Floyd" lyric sheet notation, 1940's.

When I remember music class in elementary school I can picture my classmates strolling into Mrs. Stern's class singing "Hello Everybody, Yes, Indeed" and then singing from permabound white music texts full of songs like "The Red River Valley" and "The Marine's Hymn" or "Patsy Oree Ay" and my favorite "This Land is Your Land." We sang a lot of old folk tunes and patriotic ballads and it wasn't until I was an adult that I understood who Woody Guthrie was and learned there were more verses to his song. He actually wrote in disgusted response to Irving Berlin's radio hit "God Bless America" which he thought romanticized America and glossed over the problems people faced daily.

I AIN'T A GONNA KILL NOBODY

"I took a bath this morning in six war speeches, and a sprinkle of peace. Looks like ever body is declaring war against the forces of force. That's what you get for building up a big war machine. It scares your neighbors into jumping on you, and then of course they them selves have to use force, so you are against their force, and they're aginst yours. Look like the ring has been drawed and the marbles are all in. The millionaires has throwed their silk hats and our last set of drawers in the ring. The fuse is lit and the cannon is set, and somebody is in for a frailin. I would like to see every single soldier on every single side, just take off your helmet, unbuckle your kit, lay down your rifle, and set down at the side of some shady lane, and say, nope, I aint a gonna kill nobody. Plenty of rich folks wants to fight. Give them the guns."

-from WOODY SEZ, a collection of articles written by Woody for the PEOPLE'S WORLD
Text Copyright (c) 1975 by Woody Guthrie Publications

My interest in Woody revived when I stumbed across a children's book that featured his song lyrics set to paintings by Kathy Jakobsen and included a tribute by Pete Seeger. The illustrations feature a wandering Woody with his guitar slung across his back and there are brief quotations by Guthrie as part of the frame for some of the pictures. The beautiful, detailed images tell the story of the man who crafted the music.

Then I discovered a biography aimed at younger readers by Elizabeth Partridge--This Land Was Made For You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie. Full of pictures and easy to read text, this 216 page book is one I'd highly recommend.

I read the book and it even though it was aimed at a younger audience it took awhile. Rich in quotations and pictures, Partridge draws heavily on the Woody Guthrie archives in New York City. While the book offered me a greater understanding of Guthrie's life, it also introduced me to a lot of fellow singers of his day (Pete Seeger, Leadbelly to name a couple). I was able to fit his songs, his life, his passions in their historical context and while I don't agree with some of the choices Woody made in his life, regarding his excessive alcohol use and the wandering way he absented himself from his wives and family from time to time, I felt I understood him more.

I can't begin to sum up this man's life in a paragraph or two. He was a friend of the migrant worker, the union striker, the black man, the peace loving, music-minded, wandering souls and he knew America and wanted it be better for everyone. Read this book or explore the official website.

Here are the lyrics to one of his most famous songs:

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND 
words and music by Woody Guthrie

Chorus:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

As I was walkin'  -  I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side  .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Chorus (2x)

©1956 (renewed 1984), 1958 (renewed 1986) and 1970 TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

--Kate