John Whitehead's Commentary

Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song
'Bout a funny ol' world that's comin' along.
Seems sick an' it's tired an' it's torn,
It looks like it's a-dyin' an' it's hardly been born.
--Bob Dylan, "Song to Woody"

His was a generation sandwiched in between two world wars when it seemed like the fabric of the country was coming unglued. The images that dominated the times were those of soup kitchens and dust bowl migrants. There were the unemployed "hunger marches" from shanty town settlements converging on capital cities to denounce the bankers, corporations and the politicians who were responsible for their woes. This was the Great Depression, when nature was scraping its vicious teeth across an infertile earth.

These were the turbulent times of Woody Guthrie--now brought to life in Ed Cray's authoritative and insightful biography Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie (2004).

After a dysfunctional childhood and married life, itinerant musician Woodrow Wilson Guthrie became interested in politics. In the late 1930s, he wrote for a small paper. The paper's editor eventually asked Guthrie to travel to California and investigate the plight of the migrant workers.

Guthrie took his guitar to California and wrote songs about refugees from the dust bowl and the hardships of being a migrant worker. His voice was soon well known by the wandering "Okies."

Guthrie, seeing the plight of the migrant workers, gladly performed at union gatherings. He became involved with the Communist Party, which influenced many of the unions, and even wrote a column for The Daily Worker. This placed him on the FBI's watch list. FBI agents tracked and often hounded him--even calling on his doctors when Guthrie lay dying.

However, this never deterred Woody from speaking his mind. An example is his pointed rob-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor "Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd."

Yes, as through this world I ramble,
I see lots of funny men,
Some will rob you with a six gun,
some with a fountain pen.
But as through your life you'll travel,
wherever you may roam,
You won't see an outlaw
drive a family from their home.

In 1940, Guthrie left his family and traveled to New York City. There he eventually met folk music legend Pete Seeger and joined the Almanac Singers. According to Alan Lomax--who became Guthrie's archivist--the meeting of Guthrie and Seeger at a union rally marked the beginning of a new era in American folk music. Seeger recognized that Guthrie's mission was to encourage people to take action to improve their country. "Woody wasn't a down-in-the-mouth character at all. He knew that the reason he was a musician was not to distract people from their problems but to try to help people understand their problems."

But Guthrie had problems of his own and was plagued by personal demons. He ruined many of his professional performances by arguing with producers, showing up drunk or not showing up at all.

Through it all, Guthrie was a true believer in the cause of the working people. And even at the height of his popularity, he still lived as he did in dust bowl times--wearing the clothes of the common man and shaving in cold water, even in his New York apartment.

But make no mistake about it, Guthrie was an American. And when World War II broke out, he joined the Merchant Marines, where he willingly washed dishes and entertained the crew. As one of his war songs opined: "I'm proud to wear the uniform of the Red, White and Blue."

Because of his communist associations, Guthrie was excluded from network radio. But in 1943, the publication of his autobiography, Bound for Glory, brought Guthrie widespread recognition.

Woody, however, lived in a gray world of disappointment. His beloved 4-year-old daughter Cathy, whom he immortalized in countless children's songs, died from extensive burns in 1947 from an electrical fire. Guthrie never really recovered. "There has been made in me an open place and empty spot now."

In 1950, the Weavers had a hit with Woody's "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You." However, by now Guthrie was entering a physical and mental decline which was diagnosed as Huntington's chorea--a degenerative nerve and muscular disease inherited from his mother. He ended his life in and out of hospitals.

Although he sometimes over-emphasized the "country bumpkin" sentiment, Guthrie's songs spoke intelligently or ironically of the hardships of the common people. His popular song "This Land Is Your Land" was first conceived as a parody of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" called "God Blessed America for Me." Guthrie's version of the song went:

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the relief office I saw my people--
As they stood there hungry,
I stood there wondering if
God blessed America for me.

Guthrie criticized Berlin's version because it asked people to be content with a flawed nation. One can only wonder what Guthrie would think about the country today and the way it's going.

Guthrie left his followers with a unique mixture of protest and patriotism. His "folk-protest" movement influenced popular artists such as Bob Dylan. Dylan, who idolized Guthrie, visited him in New York during his final days on his sick bed. Dylan went on to write ten songs dedicated to Guthrie.

Among others who owe a debt to Guthrie are The Band, Joan Baez, Jerry Garcia, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. "I love Woody Guthrie," McCartney has said, "and really admire the kind of songs he writes."

Indeed, Guthrie's songs continue to resonate, even in an era of glitzy music videos and celebrity flash. "As long as Guthrie's lyrics can be adapted to contemporary issues," writes Ed Cray, "his songs will be sung. As long as there remain social inequities against which he protested, his songs will be sung."

ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

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