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Celebrating the Woody Guthrie Centennial
Deep in the Smithsonian Folkways collections are never before seen artifacts from the life of one of the greatest musicians of all time (4:13)
Courtesy of: Smithsonian Folkways
Related:
Happy 100th Birthday, Woody Guthrie!
New songs by the American folk legend keep turning up, a century after his birth
July 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
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Comments (9)
He was a Communist. If you research his music I believe you'll find that the majority of tunes he claimed to have written were tunes that existed in the Public domain or were written by others. Woody Gutherie simply put different words to them and claimed them for is own. This guy has huge warts that are always ignored by such tribute groups.
Posted by Joek on January 18,2013 | 11:01 PM
This too-brief presentation is sanitized to omit mention of the leftist politics that infused Woody's music. It gives the "pretty" verses of "This Land is Your Land" but leaves out, for instance, the verses about the NO TRESPASSING sign that "On its back, it didn't say nothing -- That side was made for you and me." And as he came down with that horrible brain disease, we just thought he was drunk!
Posted by Noble Stockton on October 15,2012 | 04:57 PM
I wish more people knew about the terrible disease that took his life - HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE - it effects many - but so many more don't even know what it is - even some doctors in this day and age
Posted by Abbie on September 5,2012 | 11:32 AM
I'd like less talk and more Woodie.
Posted by peter Fowler on August 12,2012 | 07:08 PM
In response to G.N.'s comment: The right to protest is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Woody had a heart for those Americans who were disinfranchised and who fell through the cracks. If you know history, this was the time of the Great Depression and it's resultant misery-bread lines, no work, farms being auctioned for pennies on the dollar because of the Dust Bowl. Woody loved his country but questioned a government which seemed to turn a blind eye to that misery--which is a true patriot's duty.
Posted by Lin on August 1,2012 | 12:57 PM
This a response to the post left by G.Nichols. Maybe you should read one of the many biographies on Woody Guthrie and then you could explain to us why you don't like him in a more learned way . He spoke and wrote songs about the America of his times, the real America, not the nationalistic trite that was in the song "God Bless America" by Kate Smith. As far as what he hated, it was the greed and hypocrisy of America's elite that angered him, not the country itself.
Posted by Don Mears on July 30,2012 | 11:30 AM
I love these stories of a special musician who was W-a-a-y ahead of his time. I have a first edition book and song he wrote for his daughter, entitled "Bling Blang" and the jacket of the book has the music score and words to the song. I bought it in an out of the way country store in the back woods of Maine. I absolutely treasure the book! It is refreshing to see he is being celebrated, even better late than never! egbrennanart
Posted by E g brennan on July 19,2012 | 10:47 PM
Might be a good idea for the Smithsonian archivists to read all the words to Woody's songs. They will find that he absolutely hated the United States of America. Read all stanzas of This Land is Your Land, including the ones rarely sung in concerts. Not a person to be eulogized or treated with a 100th Happy Birthday....we are the ones who benefit today from his absence, not from what he left behind.
Posted by Gordy Nichols on July 19,2012 | 02:55 PM
Ah, Woody. We could use your song writing abilities today to force the modern day politicians to recognize their own foolishness..
Posted by Stu Luther on July 5,2012 | 12:28 AM