Woody at 100

I don't know if I can say anything that will do justice to the legacy of Woody Guthrie, who would have turned one hundred years ago today.  But I'll try.  His music is largely regarded as a bunch of "protest songs," but, while he did write several songs that protested against those standing the way of an egalitarian society in America, he also created vivid descriptions of life in the Depression, focusing on the common people and their struggles.  He brought public awareness to their plight by simply documenting what he saw.  In this respect he certainly influenced Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, and he was also what John Lennon would have a called a "singing reporter." The inequity in America lit a fire in Guthrie - what else can you say about a man who played a guitar bearing the legend "This Machine Kills Fascists"? - but he was also wonderfully patriotic, celebrating the people who comprised this country's population and showing listeners what made him great.

His best-known song, "This Land Is Your Land," was especially patriotic, celebrating the vast and diverse geography of this nation.  But listen closely, and you'll hear a critique of American property rights; he lamented that so much of this nation's land was under private ownership, being subdivided to generate wealth for the people who owned it.  "This land is your land, this land is my land" was a declaration of title to the land, and the lyric "This land was made for you and me" was not a celebration of the nation as being for everyone but as the depiction of a nation of politically indifferent property owners believing they had a divine right to it.

Guthrie wrote the song as a parody of and an answer to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America," a song that was no doubt a heartfelt statement by its author - as a Russian Jewish immigrant, Berlin understood the promise of America - but was deemed by Guthrie as sentimental and complacent.  He wrote "This Land Is Your Land" with such subtlety that few listeners got the joke, much less listened to the whole song.  The original title, in fact, was the much more obvious "God Blessed America For Me."  (Wonder what Guthrie would have done to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The U.S.A.," which is even more sentimental and sounds as fulfilling and satisfying as a light-beer commercial jingle?

When a black man became President of the United States, liberals hoped that the right-wing forces of darkness that had descended on America were finally receding.  Then came the Tea Party, Citizens United, voter suppression, Eric Cantor, the war against women, the war against gays, domestic program cut proposals, and the desire by the Republicans to consolidate power once and for all.  (Rachel Maddow said that, having fixed elections in their favor with new laws and help from the Supreme Court, Republicans are poised to keep control of the country . . . forever.)  Small wonder that Woody Guthrie is relevant now more than ever.  Which is why I take inspiration from the prolific songwriter and novelist.  My machine, and Internet-connected PC, also kills fascists.

Here's a clip of Guthrie's signature song.

 

Postscript: I selected a Music Video Of the Week yesterday (July 13) without knowing Woody Guthrie's exact birth date. All I knew was that he was born in 1912. Had I known it was July 14, 1912, I would have selected either a clip of Guthrie performing (which I probably couldn't have found) or a clip of a cover performance. I'll try to find one for July 20.