Woody Guthrie “This Land Was Made For You And Me”

Woody Guthrie, born in 1912 Born July 14, 1912 in the dusty little town of Okemah, Oklahoma to Charley and Nora Guthrie. His given name was Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, but everybody just called him “plain old Woody.”

Woody Guthrie’s family Woody moved to Texas when he was 17. He found an old guitar and learned to play. He liked to sing ballads – songs that tell a story.

Woody Guthrie forms a band He formed a band with some friends and started writing songs about his experiences and the folds he met along the way.

Hard Times… In 1929 people everywhere faced hard times. They called this period the Great Depression. It stopped raining and someone said it looked like a big dust bowl. And it did.

The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s

“The Great Dust Storm” Woody Guthrie sings, "On the fourteenth day of April of 1935, there struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky. You could see that dust storm coming, the cloud looked death-like black and through our mighty nation it left a dreadful track." In "Dust Can't Kill Me" he laments, "This old dust storm it's a kickin' up cinders, this old dust storm cuttin' down my wheat, this old dust storm it pushed my shack down, but it didn't get me, girl, it can't stop me."

Moving on… Like many others, Woody moved to California. California was filling up with people from all over. These travelers were called migrants or “Okies.” Their “homes” were tents and small rooms. There weren’t enough jobs to go around.

Entertaining the migrants

On to New York City In 1940 when Woody was 28, Woody went to New York City. He sang for factory workers trying to get better working conditions and higher pay. He sang on street corners with new friends like Pete Seeger and Leadbelly.

Recording his songs He began to record his songs, including a new one called “This Land Is Your Land.” He also wrote a book about his life titled Bound For Glory.

The Almanac Singers The Almanac Singers: From left: Woody Guthrie, Millard Lampell, Bess Hawes, Pete Seeger, Arthur Stern, Sis Cunningham circa 1941

World War II Woody fought in World War II with the merchant marines and also was drafted into the army.

Woody’s favorite audience was children After the war, he came home and wrote children’s songs for his little daughter Cathy and her friends.

Huntington’s Disease In 1952 Woody learned he had Huntington’s disease, a brain disease. He was 40 years old. He wrote, played his guitar and visited friends and family a few more years, But finally in September of 1954, he checked himself back into Brooklyn State Hospital.

A hard time of life Woody was mostly in and occasionally out of various hospitals for the rest of his life. Woody had visitors that included many friends from the folk music world, and a growing population of adoring fans.

A full life By the time he died in 1967, Woody had written: More than 1,000 songs 2 novels based on his life Hundreds of stories

Leaving his mark Because he always spoke out for people of all colors and races, especially the poor, he inspired many musicians to do the same.

A current activist…. John Henderson is a 2003 Rhodes scholar. Woody Guthrie was one of the people who influences his life. “I use music... to uplift the downtrodden and tell silenced stories,” he says. “I try to foster thought by adding my political voice to the many others.”

Woody died in 1967 In 1967, after fifteen years in the hospital contending with Huntington's Disease, Woody died.

Quotes from Woody Guthrie “Stick up for what you know is right. This land was made for you and me.” “My eyes has been my camera taking pictures of the world and my songs has been messages that I tried to scatter across the back sides and along the steps of fire escapes and on the windowsills and through the dark halls.”