Den amerikanske sociale folkesanger og sangskriver, Woody Guthrie, blev født 14. juli 1912 i Okemah, Oklahoma, USA , og døde 3. oktober 1967 i New York.
I 100-året for Woody Wilson Guthries fødsel inviterer Budskab fra græsrødderne til en række koncerter, hvor arven efter Woody Guthrie tages op.
Indhold
***
Forord
Den vigtigste del af Woodys Guthries inspiration som sangskriver stammer fra depressionens USA i 30’erne og fra The Dust Bowl, området omkring Oklahoma og det nordlige Texas, hvorfra tusinder flygtede til Californien efter arbejde og et bedre liv. Hans album “Dust Bowl Ballads” (1940) bygger på dissse folks tilværelse og kamp for overlevelse. (I den officielle Biography er linket til udvalgte sange fra de forskellige perioder i hans liv. En direkte samstilling er der i Life Timeline).
I 30’erne stiftede Guthrie også bekendskab med den gods-togs omrejsende hjemløse daglejer-tilværelse (“the hobos”), indtil han i 1940 kommer til New York, og her begynder indspilningerne af egne sange,og han begynde på de bedste år i første halvdel af 40’erne, og når det kunstneriske højdepunkt med gruppen og sanger-kollektivet Almanac Singers. (Denne historiske gruppe er præsenteret i linksamlingen om Pete Seeger), der på præsenterer kampsange fra den Spanske Borgerkrig og USAs arbejdskampe (herunder Guthries “Union Maid”) og sange fra efter Nazi-Tysklands angreb på Sovjetunionen i juni 1941, hvor amerikanske fellow-travelers til kommunistpartiets politik, herunder Woody Guthrie, slog ind på venstre-patriotiske linje. Blandt disse sange er Guthries meget smukke “Ruben James”) (PS alle de nævnte sange er linket i afsnittet “Songs” længere nede).
Det var i New York fra 1940, at Guthrie begyndte at sætte mærkatet “This Machine Kills Fascists” på sine guitarer. (se tillæg neders på denne side) Det var også i 1940, at Woody Guthrie som direkte alternativ til den nyskrevne amerikanske nationalsang (“God Bless America” af Irwin Berlin) skrev det progressive Amerikas alternative nationalsang, som hans navn i eftertiden blev mest kendt for: “This Land Is Your Land”.
Erindringerne fra 1943 Bound for Glory, danner grundlag for spillefilmen fra 1976 med samme titel, se på IMdB
Woody Guthrie fik mod slutningen af sit liv stor indflydelse på Bob Dylan og hele 1960’er folk revival bevægelsen, en tradition, som han også selv som sangskriver og sanger repræsenterede både den kunstneriske bedste og mest radikale del af.
Leksikalt
Woody Guthrie (Denstoredanske). Kortere dansk artikel.
Woody Guthrie (Wikipedia.no). Norsk større artikel.
Woody Guthrie (Wikipedia.org). Engelsk større artikel med mange links.
Sites & tv
The Official Woody Guthrie Website (Woodyguthrie.org).
Woody100 – News – Lyrics (alfabetic order) – Biography (incl. periods, Life & Song Time-Line, Discography, etc.) – Store – Archives – Education – Outreach – etc. See also: Woody Guthrie Foundation (Wikipedia.org)
Woody Guthrie 100 (online at Internet Archive). Incl. Song of the Day – Press – Gala Concerts – Conferences – Travelin’ Exhibit – Calendar of Events – Grassroots Events – Upcoming New Releases – Online Shop – Woody Guthrie Archives – Elementary Grade Curricula – Recommended Reading & Listening – Incl. biography.
On Woody Guthrie’s Centennial, Celebrating the Life, Politics & Music of the “Dust Bowl Troubadour” (Democracy Now, July 12, 2012, 58:56 min.). “… marking Woody Guthrie’s centennial, we’re joined by Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, .. his granddaughter Anna Canoni; and musician Steve Earle. We hear stories from Woody Guthrie’s family life and his time in New York City, where he lived from 1940 until his death in 1967 …” Lots of clips.
Woody Guthrie at 100: Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Will Kaufman Honor the “Dust Bowl Troubadour”. Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Will Kaufman Honor the “Dust Bowl Troubadour” (Democracy Now Special, July 4, 2012; 56:58 min.)
Woody Guthrie Centennial Concert, 14. april 2012 i Los Angeles, Brady Theatre. Mange bidrag på YouTube.com
Med bl.a. Tom Morello, John Doe, Kris Kristofferson, Graham Nash, Sarah Lee Guthrie, mfl. Afsluttede med This Land is Your Land, 9:48 min.!! incl. Tom Morello tale. **
** (Tom Morello sings This Land is Your Land uncensored at Nurses Robin Hood Tax rally, Chicago, 19 May 2012)
Artikler
‘My Revolutionary Mind’. Woody Guthrie 100 år (Mod Strømmen, 28. marts 2012). Blog m. tekst + video m. Yim Yames
Woody Guthrie – stemmen der nægter at dø. Af Peter Rasmussen (Arbejderen, 23. december 2008)
En sanger mod krig og for socialisme. Af Bjarne Nielsen (Arbejderen, 3. oktober 2007)
Articles
Ett stridsrop i drakens mage (pdf). Av Kent Werne (Internationalen, nr. 51, 2005; online på Marxistarkiv.se, 27.7.2021, 6 s.). “Woody Guthries mest kända sång är otvivelaktigt ‘This land is your land’, men han är upphovsman till många fler och har inspirerat mängder av amerikanska folksångare.”
Woody Guthrie — people are the song, at Morgan Library and Museum in New York. By Fred Mazelis (World Socialist Web Site, 18 April 2022). “The current exhibition effectively presents the major elements of the life and career of the influential songwriter and folksinger.”
The radicalism of Woody Guthrie (Jacobin, August 26, 2020). An interview with Will Kaufman: “Legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie is best known for his anthem ‘This Land Is Your Land’, which can come off as an innocuous ode to America if you aren’t listening closely. But the singer-songwriter was a lifelong socialist.”
Unearthing Woody Guthrie’s lost novel (Monthly Review, Vol.65, No.10, March 2014). About Woody Guthrie’s book, House of Earth. Edited by Douglas Brinkley and Johnny Depp (New York, Harper Perennial, 2013, 288 p.)
Woody Guthrie: “Ongs that prove to you this is your world”. By Alex Billet (International Socialist Review, Issue 85, September 2012). “He was, in his own words, ‘out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world’. His songs, at their very best, have this woven into their fabric. It’s a cold, hard, undeniable fact.”
100 years since singer Woody Guthrie´s birth. By Clement Daly (World Socialist Web Site, 28 August 2012). “The more Guthrie closed ranks with the Communist Party, the more his outlook conformed to Moscow?s line, which necessarily found reflection, directly and indirectly, in his music. It is within this context that Guthrie?s subsequent political evolution, beginning in 1938, must be viewed.”
Songs made for you and me (SocialistWorker.org, July 12, 2012) tells the story of Woody Guthrie on the 100th anniversary of his birth.”
Woody Guthrie still inspires, 100 years on from his birth. By Ed Vulliamy (The Guardian, 7 July 2012). “In his centenary year, the songs of the father of protest live on in the music of Dylan and Springsteen. But his radical approach to life provides arguably an even greater legacy.”
Woody Guthrie: Redder than remembered. By Scott Borchert (Monthly Review, Vol.63, No.2, May 2011). Review of Will Kaufman, Woody Guthrie, American Radical ( University of Illinois Press, 2011, 270 p.). “… thankfully, the collective consciousness of the radical movement has not forgotten what Guthrie stood for, and countless musicians—working in folk, country, punk, metal, hip-hop, and all kinds of amalgamations thereof—continue to build links … “.
See also review by Alex Billet: A rebel’s guide to Guthrie (International Socialist Review, Issue 79, September 2011) + review by Patrick Ward: Woody Guthrie: American Radical – interview with author Will Kaufman (Socialist Worker, Issue 2267, September 2011).
Will the Woody Guthrie Museum in Oklahoma distort the folksinger’s views? By Tom Agnew (World Socialist Web Site, 3 March 2012). “Late last year, the George Kaiser Foundation purchased materials from the family of Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) with the intention of opening a museum dedicated to the singer-songwriter in Tulsa, Oklahama. The museum is projected to open some time around July 14, the 100th anniversary of Guthrie’s birth.”
This song is our song (SocialistWorker.org, December 16, 2010). “Alexander Billet tells the story of one of Woody Guthrie’s most famous songs.”
‘There’s a Better World a-Coming’: The Urban Collectivism-Rural Individualism of Woody Guthrie. By John S. Partington (Spaces of Utopia: An Electronic Journal, No. 3, Autumn/Winter 2006, p. 38-56). “Guthrie was not offering his listeners or readers a revolutionary agenda but stating in his own way the New Deal philosophy (…)
Songs [Year of song]
Woody Guthrie-videos on YouTube.com:
Woody Guthrie – 1945 “Rangers Command” [1944] (56 sec.)
Woody Guthrie clip on Nightmusic 1946 – “John Henry,” with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (1:17 min.) (se også Wikipedia.org)
“Best songs” and performers selected by the compiler:
Jamara Valley (= Song of the Lincoln Brigade) Woody Guthrie – Lyrics – Wikipedia.org .- Veteran version with Pete Seeger and Almanac Singers (Lee Hays) (2:48 min.). With a lot of links. See: Songs of the Lincoln Battalion
This Machine Kills fascists (= Do Re Mi) [1937] – (YouTube.com, 2:24 min.)
I Ain’t got No Home [1938]. The Band & Bob Dylan – (Carnegie Hall 1968) (YouTube.com, 244: min.)
(Ballad of) Tom Joad [1940] (YouTube.com; 6:54 min. – Lyrics – Wikipedia.org – Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen (Akron, Ohio, on September 25th, 1996) (YouTube.com; 7:37 min.) Gurhries musikalske hovedværk er en 17 vers-omskrivning af Vredens Druer (se Democracy Now, 32:45 min. – 36:30)
Vigilante Man [1940] (YouTube.com, 3:59 min.) – Lyrics – Om terroren mod kæmpende arbejde i 30’erne. Se også linkboxen “Arbejdskampe i USA i 30’erne“.
Two Good Men (=Sacco and Vanzetti) – Lyrics – YouTube.com; 3:57 min.). Se også Tidslinjen 23. august 1927 om Sacco & Vanzetti
Union Maid – Pete Seeger [1940] (YouTube.com, 2:12 min.). Live In Australia 1963 (The audience very 60’ties! Lyrics below).
So Long, Its Been Good To Know Yuh (Dusty Old Dust). [1940]. The Weavers (YouTube.com; 3:21 min.) – Lyrics
Pastures of Plenty [1941] with Odetta (YouTube.com, 4:03 min.) – Lyrics – èn af Gurthries sange om det offentlige dæmningsprojekt ved Columbia-floden. Mest kendt er “Roll on Columbia roll on”, men denne er smukkere. Se også: Roll on Columbia The documentary
Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done (The Great Historical Bum) [1941] (YouTube.com, 2:22 min.) – Lyrics – Guthries første i en række sange med nye politisk tendens, anti-Hitler-alliancen.
All You Fascists Bound To Lose [1942] – A short song from one of Woody’s radio broadcasts. (Youtube.com, 1;35 min.). Features below. En af Guthries første sange efter at USA i december 1941 gik ind i krigen.
So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh (World War II Version) [1942] (YouTube.com; 3:35) ukendt cover version – Lyrics
Sinking Of The Rueben James [1942] The Weavers (YouTube., 2:40 min.) & Woody Guthrie (3:00 min.). Woody Guthrie’s song written shortly after the sinking of the USS Reuben James DD-245. Slideshow with notable photos included.
Hobo’s Lullabay [1944] Woody Guthrie & Emmylou Harris (Youtube.com, 2.19 min.) med sidste fotos af Woody Guthrie
Against Th’ Law [1948]. Billy Bragg & Wilco (YouTube.com, 3:03 min.) – Lyrics
The Farmer- Labor Train [1948] (YouTube.com, 2:58 min.) – Kampagnesang på melodien ”Wabash Connonball” (se Wikipedia.org) – se også om Farmer-Labor Party på Wikipedia.org
Los Gatos Plane Wreck (= Deportees) [1948] – Bruce Springsteen (YouTube.org, 3:12 min.) – Wikipeida.org
Riding In My Car [1948] Woody Guthrie Car Song Book. An animated version of “Riding in My Car”, a children’s book illustrated by Scott Menchin based on the Woody Guthrie children’s song. (1:41 min.) – Lyrics below. En af Guthries mest kendte børnesange.
This Land Is Your Land [1940] (YouTube.com, 2:18) – Official Lyrics NB med alle 7 vers – Wikipedia.org (incl. Versions), dog uden denne radikale udgave af vers 6: “One bright sunny morning/ in the shadow of the steeple/ by the Relief Office/ I saw my people. /As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering/ if God Blessed America for me.” (*Source: This land is your land: Woody Guthrie & the journey of an American folksong, pg 16. -Robert Santelli, 2012.)
Arlo Guthrie/This Land is Your Land/Boston Pops. (YouTube.com, 3:49 min.) med nogle gode kommentarer, men uden de mest radikale vers, 5, 6 og 7.
Version The Obama Inaugural Celebration, 18. januar 2009, med Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen etc. (YouTube.com, 5:04 min.). Med alle 7 vers på Pete Seegers forlangende. (Respekt! selv om det er bløde udgaver af vers 5+6) .
John McCutcheon’s udgave fortæller om Pete Seeger og denne begivenhed: – “This Land is Your Land” (Woody Guthrie), John McCutcheon, (YouTube.com., 8:14 min. Selve sangen fra 4:15-). (Institute of Musical Traditions (www.imtfolk.org), Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, MD, USA.
This land is your land. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings in 2005 on “Naturally” record (Daily Motion, 4:23 min.). Soul/funk-udgave, se om gruppen på Wikipedia.org.
(Citat fra Pretty Boy Floyd Words and Music by Woody Guthrie (1939), lyrics + YouTube.com)
Se også:
The Songs of the Almanac Singers (kilde: woodyguthrie.de, tysk ikke ajourført site med mange gode, men også mange broken, links)
Woody Guthrie Posters & Fine Art Prints (Posters & Posters). 7 fotos af Woody Guthrie
Song To Woody.[1962] By Bob Dylan (YouTube.com, 2:52 min.). Lyrics – and on Wikipedia.org
Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie. By Bob Dylan (YouTube.com, 7:13 min.). Poem – lyrics
“This Maschine Kills Fascists” (Wikipedia.org). Om Woody Guthries guitar.
Democray Now, Steve Earle ca. 40:40 min. inde.
Se også på Socialistisk Bibliotek:
Linkboxen: Peter (Pete) Seeger 1919-2014
Tidslinjen 24. december 1913 om 1913-massakren (Italian Hall), med link til Woody Guthries sang “1913-Massacre”.
Kilde: Privat foto, Facebook: Frede Jakobsen
