Woody is just Woody. Thousands of people do not know he has any other name. He is just a voice and a guitar. He sings the songs of a people and I suspect that he is, in a way, that people. Harsh voiced and nasal, his guitar hanging like a tire iron on a rusty rim, there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of the people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit.
(John Steinbeck; quoted in Joe Klein, Woody Guthrie: A Life, London, 1981, p. 160.)

Woody Guthrie singing John Henry


Here is a selection of some Guthrie songs that I sing.

America First (Lindbergh)

Woody Guthrie contributed significantly to the struggle against fascism and wrote many songs about it before and during the second world war. Many were not released at the time, some of them rarely heard until fifty years later.

There were plenty of homegrown fascists and sympathisers in the USA, and one organisation Guthrie targeted was the America First movement founded by aviation hero Charles Lindbergh. Guthrie found it particularly galling that Lindbergh was presented with the Commander Cross of the Order of the German Eagle by Göring, on behalf of Adolf Hitler, for his famous 1927 flight and his services to aviation, and refused to return it when the war began. It didn't help that he made statements like asserting that the survival of the white race was more important than the survival of democracy in Europe.

Guthrie's song, though it probably overstates the case against Lindbergh, is a powerful reminder that fascism was not restricted to Europe and many Americans saw it as a way of combatting the threat of communism.

Here is my rendition of the song, and here are the lyrics.

The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

Isaac Woodard (1919-1992) was an African-American veteran of WW2 who was beaten and maimed only hours after being discharged from the US army. Still in uniform, he was left permanently blind after suffering from a ruptured cornea during an encounter with the South Carolina police on February 14, 1946. The sheriff involved claimed he had struck Woodard only once in self-defense. The case was not widely reported immediately but it soon became a major issue, with extensive newspaper coverage, when the NAACP campaigned for the South Carolina state government to take action, which they had been reluctant to do. One significant campaigner was film-maker Orson Welles whose radio broadcast about the incident can be heard on YouTube. It is continued here in Part 2 and Part 3 is here.

A month after the beating, calypso artist, Lord Invader, referred to the incident in an anti-racism song he recorded called "God Made Us All". Later that year, Woody Guthrie wrote and recorded this, saying he wrote it "so's you wouldn't be forgetting what happened to this famous Negro soldier less than three hours after he got his Honorable Discharge down in Atlanta." He also said, "I sung this Isaac Woodard song in the Lewisohn Stadium one night for more than 36,000 people, and I got the loudest applause I've ever got in my whole life. This song is a long song, but most of the action is told in Isaac's own words. I made this ballad up because we'll need lots of songs like this one before we win our fight for racial equality in our big free United States."

The fight is not over yet, but the US has certainly come a long way since that time.

Here is my rendition of the song, and here are the lyrics.

Blowing Down This Road Feeling Bad

This is Woody's version of Going Down the Road Feeling Bad. (See American Songs)

Here is a video of his rendition, with images of the dust bowl.

Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)

On January 29, 1948 a plane crashed near Los Gatos Canyon in California. The fatalities consisted of four Americans and 28 illegal immigrant farm workers who were being deported back to Mexico.

Woody Guthrie noticed that radio and newspaper coverage of the incident only gave the names of the American casualties, referring to the Mexican victims merely as "deportees." His response was to write a poem in which he assigned names to the dead: Juan, Rosalita, Jesús and María.

The Mexican victims of the accident were buried in a mass grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno. Of the 27 men and one woman, only 12 were ever identified.

The opening lines of the poem - "The crops are all in, the peaches are rottening,The oranges are piled in their creosote dumps" are a reference to the government policy of the time to pay farmers to destroy their crops in order to inflate the prices of farm products. Woody felt this was morally wrong when there were hungry people in the world.

It is interesting to note that, under an agreement between Mexico and the U.S. (1947) "undocumented Mexicans who were sent back across the border could return to the U.S. as temporary contract laborers; during the life of their contracts, they could not be again deported. In practice, employers often called Border Patrol stations to report their own undocumented employees, who were returned, momentarily, to border cities in Mexico, where they signed labor contracts with the same employers who had denounced them. This process became known as 'drying out wetbacks' or 'storm and drag immigration.' 'Drying out' provided a deportation-proof source of cheap seasonal labor." [Dick J. Reavis, Without Documents, New York, 1978, p. 39.]

Woody's poem was not set to music until a decade later, when Martin Hoffman, a schoolteacher, put a tune to it. It was popularised by Pete Seeger.

Other artists who have recorded it include The Kingston Trio (1963), Cisco Houston (1963), Judy Collins (1964), The Byrds (1969), Joan Baez (1971), Arlo Guthrie (1974), Dolly Parton (1981), Paddy Reilly, Sweet Honey in the Rock (1985), Christy Moore (1985), Billy Bragg, The Highwaymen (1985), The Dubliners, Peter, Paul and Mary (1995), Bruce Springsteen (2000), Barbara Dane (2004) and The Wolfe Tones.

Here it is sung by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and here by Arlo Guthrie and Emmylou Harris. And this is an interesting introduction to the song by Tim McMullen.

And here is my rendition. The lyrics may be read here.

Dirty Overalls

Most of the following information is from The Songs That Fought the War by John Bush Jones.

Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Secretary of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard proposed the idea of "Victory Gardens" with suburban gardeners being asked to stop growing flowers and instead grow vegetables for the war effort. Over twenty million Victory Gardens were planted, producing over a million tons of vegetables valed at $85 million. As well as providing food for the troops, the high yield of homegrown vegetables helped control the prices of those that were grown commercially, thus curbing inflation and boosting morale. About fifteen songs were written about this effort, two of which were published by the Music War Committee. One of these was "Dirty Overalls", which Woody Guthrie co-wrote with Earl Robinson, about a dirt farmer whose family farm supports the war. Although the song was published in 1943 it must have been written earlier, as Woody apparently recorded it for the Library of Congress in 1940, under the title Dirty Overhauls.

Here is my rendition of the song, and here are the lyrics.

Do Re Mi

In this ironic song from the Dust Bowl era, California is seen as a paradise - "a garden of Eden." Unfortunately this land of opportunity is only available to those who already have money. (The phrase "do re mi" means "dough", or money.)

The song is basically a warning to would-be migrants to stay where they are as there are already too many migrants, and not enough money or work available to compensate for the hardships involved in migration.

Guthrie possibly had Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath in mind. Another of his songs, which I also sing, specifically tells the story of Steinbeck's character, Tom Joad, and his attempt to migrate with his family from the Oklahoma dustbowl to the "paradise" of California, with tragic consequences.

Here is my performance of the song, and here are the lyrics.

First upload removed from YouTube due to corrupted file.

See Archives for details of views, comments and video responses.

The Dying Doctor

Woody Guthrie wrote several songs in support of the miners who were often in conflict with the companies which exploited them. These lyrics were written in September, 1945, but were never recorded. It is not known whether he ever wrote a tune to this or just intended it as a poem. As far as I know, nobody has performed this song before. Also known as The Company Town Doctor, it was published in the 1965 book Born To Win, which he co-wrote with Robert Shelton. I have put a tune to it, which I hope is close enough to Woody's style.

Thanks to Tony Oppegard, for providing me with the lyrics. Here is my rendition, and here are the lyrics.

The Dying Miner

This song was written as a tribute to the 111 miners who were killed in Centralia Coal Mine No 5 Disaster which occurred on March 25, 1947 at 3:26 PM

This video about the disaster uses Woody Guthrie's song as the soundtrack. And here is my rendition of the song.

The lyrics are here.

Grand Coulee Dam

It is ironic that some of Woody Guthrie's best songs were written as pro-government propaganda. In May 1941, he was hired to promote the federal dams on the Columbia River, especially the enormous Coulee Dam, whose construction apparently destroyed the Colville Indian community by cutting off their supply of salmon. Woody travelled around the Columbia Basin, writing 26 songs in 30 days. This song, to the tune of Wabash Cannonball is one of the most effective.

Here it is sung by Lonnie Donegan.

Here is my performance, and here are the lyrics.

The Great Dust Storm

Also known as Dust Storm Disaster this was one of many songs Woody Guthrie wrote about the dust bowl storms leading to the great migrations from Oklahoma to California from 1935 to 1940. The storms were caused by over-cultivation of marginal land to grow cotton, wheat and corn. In the mid-1930s, there was a drought that turned the soil to dust, and, when the winds came, the dust rose and blew across the eastern half of the US, some as far as the Atlantic Ocean. During the worst of it, the sky was black all day and even blankets stuffed under doors and around the windows could not keep the dust out of people's homes. Millions of acres of marginal land were destroyed when the topsoil lifted and; when it fell, crops on well-tended acres were suffocated.

Although it was a man-made catastrophe due to years of improper land use many preferred to view the storms as a judgment from God, as suggested by Guthrie in this song.

Guthrie recorded an album of Dust Bowl Ballads in 1940. This was the first song on the album.

Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.

The Great Historical Bum

This song, also known as The Bragging Song and The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done has a lot of verses, many of which are dated, but I include them here out of historical interest. I think Woody himself would not have sung all the verses at one time but choose the ones appropriate for the occasion. The song is similar to Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago.

It was recorded by the Chad Mitchell Trio and Odetta, among others.

Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.

Hard Travellin'

One of Woody Guthrie's best known songs - on one of his favourite themes.

Here is Lonnie Donegan performing the song in 1958, and a cover by Bob Dylan.

And here is my rendition. The lyrics are here.

I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore

When Woody Guthrie visited the migrant camps in the autumn of 1938, he found that one of the more popular songs was a gospel hymn called This World Is Not My Home, which had been made popular by the Carter Family.
Woody felt that this song was telling the migrants not to take action to help themselves but to wait to be rewarded in the next life and accept their poverty and ill health. He rewrote it with words that changed this meaning around and called for action.

Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.

I've Got to Know

In this song Woody replies to the proposition in the spiritual Farther Along that we do not need to question the injustices of this world as it will all be resolved in the next one. Using the same well-known tune, he insists that we need answers now!

There is an excellent rendition of this song on losthill's channel, and here is my attempt at it.

Here are the lyrics.

Jesus Christ

Woody's song about Jesus as a working class hero, to the tune of Jesse James.

Here is a video of Woody singing it, recorded in 1940.

This song is on my third CD, Gospel Ship.

Here is my performance and here are the lyrics.

Ludlow Massacre

In September 1913, mine workers in southern Colorado went on strike against the coal mine owners, in particular John D. Rockefeller's Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation. They were fighting for an eight-hour day, a fairer method of weighing the coal and the right to shop in stores not owned by the company, as well as recognition of the union according to already existing labor laws.

Miners' housing and everything else in the towns where they lived, and pretty much the state government itself, were in Rockefeller's control.

When the striking workers were forced out of their homes they set up tent camps in the hills, the largest being at Ludlow.

Although there was no violence from the strikers, Martial Law was declared and, throughout the winter, regular raids were carried out by "detective agencies" working for Rockefeller, resulting in several deaths. Some of the strikers managed to obtain guns to defend themselves.

When the strike was still not over by spring the mine owners organised an armored car, with a mounted machine-gun, to drive around and spray bullets into the camps, forcing the miners to dig trenches and holes beneath the tent floors to protect their families.

The armed thugs were reinforced by the National Guard, which was under the command of the governor, Their wages were paid by the Rockefellers.

On the morning of April 20th, the Ludlow camp was attacked with machine-gun fire and the strike leader was enticed into the hills to discuss a truce, and shot to death by members of the National Guardsmen. Then at night the tents were set on fire by the soldiers, killing twenty people, eleven of them children. It is estimated that altogether 66 people were killed over the duration of the strike.

The outcome of the massacre was that thousands of people marched to the state capital and demanded that the Guardsmen be tried for murder. Miners armed themselves and attack the mine guards and blew up mine shafts in the town of Trinidad. A company of state soldiers sent there refused to mobilize, saying they would not shoot women and children.

After twelve more deaths, order was restored by the combined forces of the corporations and the federal government and the strike ended. None of the hired gunmen were charged with a crime.

This song is Woody Guthrie's account of the massacre at the Ludlow camp.

Here is my rendition. You can read the lyrics here.

New Found Land

A simple song about the excitement of beginning a new life. From the Columbia River collection.

Here is my performance and here are the lyrics.

1913 Massacre

The 1913 massacre, also known as the Italian Hall disaster occurred on December 24, 1913 in Calumet, Michigan. Seventy-four men, women, and children, mostly striking mine workers and their families, were crushed to death when someone falsely yelled "fire" at a crowded Christmas party. Though it was never established who cried "fire" and why it is generally believed that it was called out by the anti-union company management in an attempt to disrupt the party.

Woody Guthrie wrote this great song about the incident. I'm not sure where the tune came from originally, but Bob Dylan used it for his tribute to Woody Guthrie - Song to Woody. It is also the tune I used for my tribute to my first hundred subscribers - and my second, third, fourth and fifth hundred subscribers! (See Song For a Hundred Subscribers, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.)

Here is Woody singing his own song, and some covers by YouTube singers, losthills and coolanddark.

And here is my rendition.

Here are the lyrics.

Pastures of Plenty

Woody's classic song about the lives of migrant workers, written in 1941, to the tune of Pretty Polly.

Here is my performance and here are the lyrics.

Philadelphia Lawyer

Woody turned his hand to writing a cowboy song. The lawyer in question was either very brave or very foolhardy.

There is a video of me singing this song and here are the lyrics.


This song is on my first CD: Axis of Evil and other True Stories.

Poor Lazarus (Dead or Alive)

Here is a 78 RPM record of Woody singing this song, also known as "Dead or Alive."

Pretty Boy Floyd

A song about a notorious outlaw. Here are the lyrics.

My performance can be seen at the bottom of the page.

Ramblin' Round

Woody's classic song about the dispossessed refugee, to the tune of Lead Belly's Good Night Irene.

Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.

Ranger’s Command

Another cowboy song.

Here is my performance and here are the lyrics.

Roll On Columbia

One of the songs Woody wrote to glamorize the harnessing of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. Eleven hydroelectric dams were built to help farms and industry, but their construction also permanently altered the character of the river. The song became famous as an anthem about American public works projects arising out of the New Deal in the Great Depression. This information is from Wikipedia. For more information you can read the whole article.

Woody generally did not write his own tunes but borrowed them from well-known folk songs. This one uses the tune of Goodnight Irene.


Here is an interesting video about this project. The title is Roll On Columbia, but the song is not featured in the video. Instead we hear Oregon Trail.

Here is my video of the song.

Here are the lyrics.

Sinking of the Reuben James

Woody Guthrie wrote this song as a memorial to the American sailors killed on October 31, 1941, when German U-boats torpedoed and sank the destroyer, Reuben James, as it was taking war materials to Britain, the first U.S. Navy ship lost during the war. Surprisingly the incident did not have much impact and it is really only Guthrie's song that has kept the memory of it alive.


The tune is the traditional Wildwood Flower. Here is my performance, and here are the lyrics.

I also attempt to play this on the fiddle, together with The Titanic.

So Long, It's Been Good to Know Ya

This is one of Woody Guthrie's best known songs. There are a few different versions, depending on current events of the time. You can hear Woody sing the original version here.

For a good introduction to this song, have a listen to Lew Dite's performance.

Here is my rendition of the song. You can also see my performance of the World War II version of the song that Woody wrote when he was in the Merchant Marines. The lyrics of both versions can be found here.

Tom Joad

Woody wrote this seventeen-verse ballad, based on John Steinbeck's great novel,The Grapes of Wrath, specifically for his 1940 album, Dust Bowl Ballads. He had never actually read the book but he considered John Ford's movie of it "the best cussed pitcher I ever seen." He wrote the song overnight at the home of Jerry Oberwager, where Pete Seeger was staying, as there was a typewriter (and a half gallon of wine) available. The tune he used was the same melody as the Carter family's John Hardy.

Here is a video of Guthrie himself singing it, illustrated by stills from the film.

Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.

Union Maid (Woody Guthrie and Mill Lampell)

In May, 1940, Woody Guthrie travelled with Pete Seeger to Oklahoma, where they met up with local Communist Party organisers, Bob and Ina Wood. Ina, a militant feminist, complained that Pete and Woody never sang songs about women in the labour movement. So Woody immediately sat down to write Union Maid to the tune of Red Wing (by Kerry Mills, 1907).

Pete Seeger thought only two of the verses were any good and a year later told Mill Lampell, fellow member of The Almanac Singers, that he had forgotten the others. Lampell went into another room and came back later with the third verse, which they then recorded.

It soon became one of Woody Guthrie's most popular songs. The line about joining the Ladies' Auxiliary, which was not actually written by Woody, is now often sung as "And fight together for liberty."

Here is Pete Seeger singing the song with Arlo Guthrie (Woody's son). Interestingly, they only sing the first verse and thus chorus. Did Pete decide the rest of the song was not good enough?

Here is a little animation by Mike Konopacki, also of the first verse and chorus, sung by Anne Feeney.

And here is my rendition of the song. Here are the lyrics.

Vigilante Man

One of Woody Guthrie's great political songs, written in 1939. Vigilante men were armed men, often members of the American Legion, who were deputised by the police, especially in California, to help maintain law and order. This, of course, was basically a euphemism for strike breaking. Many unionists and migrants workers were beaten up by gangs of these men with clubs and night sticks. The song includes a reference to Preacher Casey, a character from Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath.

The tune Guthrie used was from a Carter Family song Today Has Been a Lonesome Day, which, in turn, was derived from Blind Lemon Jefferson's See That My Grave is Kept Clean.

Here is a video of a lecture about the song by Professor Richard Polenburg, who also sings the song.
A very popular cover was recorded by Ry Cooder. Some other recordings are by Bruce Springsteen and Jessy Carolina, and here's a good one by YouTube star losthills.

Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.



Prettyboy Floyd - See above.