This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ours, cause we don't give a darn. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do. (Wikiquotes)Those are the words of Woody Guthrie, America’s most prolific songwriter and an icon of Americana. He made almost no money off of his work, freely bequeathing his uniquely-American music to the country he loved.
Jeffrey Weiss has written a nice essay commemorating the 100th birthday of American folk hero Woody Guthrie.
He was a staunch if unconventional American patriot who risked his life for the nation. He was totally willing to work for an honest dollar, even if that dollar had capitalistic ties. And he was a lifetime respecter of religion, while not much willing to get pinned down to any particular faith.
About that patriotism part: during World War II, he served as a Merchant Marine, cleaning pots and pans. Two of his ships were blown up from under him. And he got back on the third. Few of his current critics can offer a comparable record of bravery for the nation.
And capitalism? While he sang plenty for free or little, he got paid when he could. In 1941, he took a one-month government job. He got paid $266.66 to write a song a day about the Bonneville Power Administration, which was selling new hydroelectric electricity to municipalities and industries in the Pacific Northwest. Woody was hired to create what amounts to pro-power propaganda. The songs from that month included several that ended up classics: "Grand Coulee Dam," "Pastures of Plenty," " Roll On Columbia" and "Jackhammer Blues." (Most writers go a lifetime without penning that many memorable songs. Woody did it in a month.) (Happy Birthday Woody Guthrie)I love Woody’s music. It is raw and real, you can taste the dust of the roads he traveled, hear the click clack of the trains, and see the vast landscapes he sings about. I like his gritty, dusty songs like Hard Travelin', but he shows his diversity of subjects with his sea chantey, What did the Deep Sea Say, which I also appreciate.
Recordings of him are unrehearsed and unenhanced by modern studio technology. His voice is not pretty, and everything is not always pitch-perfect, but it is a true slice of America, especially with Lead Belly backing him with that masterful, thrumming 12-string that never misses a lick. And that’s not to take anything away from his fellow merchant marine and frequent musical sidekick, Cisco Houston. They all made a lot of music and it has become a part of our national heritage.
Fun Trivia – Woody Guthrie
