Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Woody Guthrie

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie 

(July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967)

Woody Guthrie is one of my heroes. His music that honestly addressed the problems of his and our time, his philosophy, and his willingness to take on the greed of the 1% and corporate America as well as the fascist element of America's Right-Wing politics has informed my own actions in these areas.

Perhaps Woody's best known song, This Land is Your Land

Even as United States soldiers were fighting the Fascist governments of Germany, Italy, and Japan, Right-Wing Fascism was growing at home:  All You Fascists Bound to Lose

Talking Dust Bowl Blues may again be sung these days as global warming brings heat and drought that again strikes the United States:

Hard Travelin': 

Woody's son, Arlo, and long-time friend, Pete Seeger, sing Woody's songs.

Arlo singing Woody's Pastures of Plenty:

From the Woody Guthrie 3 day 100th birthday celebration that ended on July 13, 2012:

The wisdom of Woody Guthrie:

• Wherever little children are hungry and cry,Wherever people ain't free.
• Wherever men are fightin' for their rights, That's where I'm a-gonna be, Ma. ~  from the song, Tom Toad
• THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS ~ message Woody would write on his guitar
• My eyes has been my camera taking pictures of the world and my songs has been my messages that I tried to scatter across the back sides and along the steps of the fire escapes and on the window sills and through the dark halls... ~ from Woody's 1943 autobiography, Bound For Glory (1943)
• I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. ~ quoted in Prophet Singer: The Voice And Vision of Woody Guthrie(2007) by Mark Allan Jackson. 

More Woody Guthrie:

Soundtrack From the Film Woody Guthrie Hard Travelin'