[Music] Woody Guthrie Centenary

[Gamburd]

Great American singer and folk musician (known for his protest songs); served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and then in the U.S. Army during WWII; would have been one hundred years old today:


"Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land." Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress.[1] Such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jeff Tweedy and Tom Paxton have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie


Four songs:


Sacco and Vanzetti

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNKg54bvObQ" target="_blank">Woody Guthrie -- Two Good Men - YouTube


Jolly Banker:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdyLb7ouXUU" target="_blank">Woody Guthrie - Jolly Banker - YouTube


Hard Travelin'

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jijdEb6iVNg" target="_blank">Woody Guthrie - Hard Travelin' - YouTube


This Land is Your Land:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s&feature=related" target="_blank">Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land - YouTube

[ross]

Great guy, great songs - written about things that actually mattered, more than I can say for most popular music these days.

[Bluehawk]

Something marginally RO-related.

Woody Guthrie - Miss Pavlichenko - YouTube

[Shadrach]

I got into Guthrie through Billy Bragg's music, especially the Mermaid Avenue album, which was songs he wrote but never put to music. Beautiful album, highly recommended

Billy Bragg & Wilco ft. Natalie Merchant - Birds and Ships - YouTube

His music is a great resource for learning about the often violent history of the Labor Union movement in the US in the 20s and 30s.

Woody Guthrie "Vigilante Man" - YouTube

Tear the fascist down - Woody Guthrie - YouTube

A truly great songwriter. Hopefully he will continue to be an inspiration to new generations fighting against oppression and fascism.

[Alexander Ostmann]

Originally Posted by Shadrach

A truly great songwriter. Hopefully he will continue to be an inspiration to new generations fighting against oppression and fascism.

There are still fascist countries?

[Shadrach]

Not sure if trolling or not there Ostmann, or if you really are that ignorant? Anyway, I'm going to honor it with an answer.

There are fascist parties popping their dirty heads up all over Europe these days. Especially with the economic situation and anti-immigrant sentiments in many of the countries they have easy days recruiting new followers.

I guess the most known examples these days are
Golden Dawn (Greece) - closest Europe has seen to the Nazis for a long time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_(Greece)

National Front (France)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_(France)

Freedom Party (Austria)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Party_of_Austria

Britains BNP is also well known but from what I can tell they are just an extreme fringe these days.

In my country we also have the Progress Party (FRP), they are getting more popular every election. Although many claim they are just liberarian and populist, I am sure they will implement fascist policies if they ever come to power (hopefully never).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_Party_(Norway)

[bier]

Originally Posted by Bluehawk

Something marginally RO-related.

Woody Guthrie - Miss Pavlichenko - YouTube

I cannot tell if this guy is racist(generalisation of germans as nazis) or if he was just a mentally slower person.

[The Commissar]

Originally Posted by bier

I cannot tell if this guy is racist(generalisation of germans as nazis) or if he was just a mentally slower person.

I can't tell if you're ignorant or just a troll.
Just in-case, here's a newsflash for you: They (the invaders) were Nazis.

[Shadrach]

Bier: This song was written in 1946. In the immidiate years after the war, for most people in the US and in liberated Europe, all Germans - and *especially* if they were in the Wehrmacht or SS - were the "Nazis". It didn't matter if you had been a member of the Nazi Party or not.

[Unterscharfuhrer]

His son Arlow Guthrie is also worth checking out!!

[Shadrach]

For Woody Guthrie fans and also Billy Bragg fans I highly recommend this acoustic live set from 2000 in Hamburg:
http://archive.org/details/bbragg2000-06-06.flacf

Great sound quality for a bootleg and great selection of songs

[Alexander Ostmann]

Originally Posted by Shadrach

Not sure if trolling or not there Ostmann, or if you really are that ignorant? Anyway, I'm going to honor it with an answer.

There are fascist parties popping their dirty heads up all over Europe these days. Especially with the economic situation and anti-immigrant sentiments in many of the countries they have easy days recruiting new followers.

I guess the most known examples these days are
Golden Dawn (Greece) - closest Europe has seen to the Nazis for a long time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_(Greece)

National Front (France)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_(France)

Freedom Party (Austria)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Party_of_Austria

Britains BNP is also well known but from what I can tell they are just an extreme fringe these days.

In my country we also have the Progress Party (FRP), they are getting more popular every election. Although many claim they are just liberarian and populist, I am sure they will implement fascist policies if they ever come to power (hopefully never).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_Party_(Norway)

I said "countries." Not "parties." I'm well aware of the fact that fascism exists in tons of parties all over the world. We have it right here in America, still one of the oldest fascist parties out there, the ANP.

Originally Posted by bier

I cannot tell if this guy is racist(generalisation of germans as nazis) or if he was just a mentally slower person.

That's definitely not racism, but I got the same feeling. I wouldn't be able to post something to a similar effect without being trolled upon by the rest of the forum goers, though.

Originally Posted by The Commissar

I can't tell if you're ignorant or just a troll.
Just in-case, here's a newsflash for you: They (the invaders) were Nazis.

Less than 10% of Germans were Nazis so I don't see what your point is there.

Originally Posted by Shadrach

Bier: This song was written in 1946. In the immidiate years after the war, for most people in the US and in liberated Europe, all Germans - and *especially* if they were in the Wehrmacht or SS - were the "Nazis". It didn't matter if you had been a member of the Nazi Party or not.

Yeah, and that is totally wrong and really messed up.

[fiftyone]

I think you all need to read Bound For Glory.

It will do you good.

[The Commissar]

Originally Posted by Alexander Ostmann

Less than 10% of Germans were Nazis so I don't see what your point is there.

That's simply not true. I'm not sure why you're going to try to state something just so it falls in line with political correctness.

[bier]

Originally Posted by The Commissar

That's simply not true. I'm not sure why you're going to try to state something just so it falls in line with political correctness.

German Population:
1939: 79,37 million (including Sudetenland, Ostmark and Memelland)
1941: 90 million (including all of above + Danzig-Westpreussen, Wartheland and Ostoberschlesien)

Source: taken it from Wikipedia because i'm lazy

NSDAP Party Members:
http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3512

Looks like Ostmann is right.

[The Commissar]

Originally Posted by bier

German Population:
1939: 79,37 million (including Sudetenland, Ostmark and Memelland)
1941: 90 million (including all of above + Danzig-Westpreussen, Wartheland and Ostoberschlesien)

Source: taken it from Wikipedia because i'm lazy

NSDAP Party Members:
http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3512

Looks like Ostmann is right.

In terms of those who were "card-carrying", yes. But in terms of people who supported them or believed in the party's ideals/goals, no.

[ross]

I get the distinct feeling this argument would be going the other way if we were discussing songs about "commies".

We can argue until we are blue in the face whether it was right or wrong to use the word "Nazis" in his songs, but we happen to live in a very different world, and we also aren't in a world war where the other side is led by said people with significant majority support from their population. Even if they weren't, they would get generalised anyway, because get this: in war, the objective is to make the other guys look bad! As for immediate postwar songs, do you honestly think people were that fussed about political correctness after the horrors they were treated to as the Allies advanced through Germany? Get real.

I am bothered by people generalising now, but back then? I can understand completely why they did it, and while it may not have been any less incorrect, it's stupid to make a gigantic fuss out of it when our own context is so different to that the songs were written in.

[Shadrach]

Well said Ross, much better put than I was able to word it

[miisautumn]

Here is a great interview by none other then the Legendary Folk Singer Woody Guthrie's Granddaughter. See what their family is up to and also see if they're keeping his legacy alive. All this great information is right here in this awesome great interview by the thecelebritycafe.com Check it out http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/...-woody-guthrie
Believe me you will not be disappointed.