THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND This land is your land This land is my land From California To the New York Island From the red wood forest To the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me

Woody Guthrie (1912-1967)

Woody  Guthrie  was  born  in  Oklahoma,  on  July  14th,  1912.  His  father  was  a  cowboy  and  his  mother  played  the  guitar  and  banjo.  In  1931,  Guthrie  headed  for  Texas.  He  worked  in  a  drugstore,  where  the  owner  had  a  guitar.  He  played  the  guitar  every  chance  he  got,  trying  to  pick  out  songs  his  mother  had  taught  him.      It  was  during  the  Great  Depression,  and  there  wasn't  much  work.  So  in  1935,  Guthrie  traveled  west,  along  with  a  group  of  other  people  looking  for  work,  called  "Okies."  Sometimes  Guthrie  hopped  a  freight  train,  sometimes  he  hitchhiked,  and  sometimes  he  just  walked.  He  didn't  have  any  money  and  often  went  hungry,  but  along  the  way  he  discovered  that  he  really  liked  traveling.  As  he  traveled,  he  wrote  songs  about  his  experiences.      Guthrie  kept  traveling  until  he  reached  California.  In  1937,  he  appeared  on  several  radio  shows,  performing  his  songs  and  commenting  on  issues  such  as  the  corruption  of  politicians.  But  he  didn't  like  staying  in  one  place  too  long.  In  1939,  he  headed  back  east,  all  the  way  to  New  York  City.      In  1940,  he  wrote  a  song  called  This  Land  Is  Your  Land.  The  song  describes  the  many  sights  of  America  and  repeats  the  line,  “this  land  was  made  for  you  and  me.”  While  it  sounds  like  a  nice  message  about  sharing,  Guthrie  wasn't  trying  to  make  a  happy  song.  He  was  frustrated  at  how  poor  and  helpless  most  of  Americans  were.  On  top  of  that,  a  few  Americans  had  all  the  money  and  had  no  trouble  finding  jobs,  houses,  or  food.  It  seemed  very  unfair.    Guthrie  is  singing  a  message  against  the  wealthy  few  who  owned  and  controlled  most  of  America.  In  Guthrie's  eyes,  all  Americans  were  important  and  the  country  belonged  to  everyone  

IF I HAD A HAMMER

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening, All over this land, I'd hammer out danger, I'd hammer out a warning, I'd hammer out love between, My brothers and my sisters, All over this land.

Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

Pete  Seeger  was  born  in  New  York  City  on  May  3rd,  1919.  He  came  from  a  very  musical  family.  His  father  was  a  composer  and  his  aunt  was  a  music  historian.  Many  of  his  siblings  went  on  to  become  musicians  just  like  him.      Seeger  loved  folk  music  and  spent  most  of  his  life  looking  for  new  folk  songs  that  he  could  share.  He  recorded  hundreds  of  folk  songs  from  around  America  and  introduced  them  to  teachers,  children,  and  musicians.      Seeger  wanted  to  write  songs  that  could  change  people's  opinions  and  perhaps  even  solve  some  of  the  problems  he  saw  around  him.  He  wrote  songs  to  help  workers  that  weren't  treated  well.  He  wrote  songs  that  protested  racism  and  segregation.  He  also  wrote  songs  against  going  to  war.  While  his  ideas  sounded  nice,  his  ideas  were  considered  dangerous.  At  this  time,  anyone  who  was  against  the  government  and  wanted  to  share  their  wealth  was  called  a  communist.  Communists  could  be  sued  and  were  sometimes  kicked  out  of  the  country.  Seeger  was  brave  and  didn't  care  what  the  government  might  do.  He  spoke  out  about  his  ideas  anyway.    The  way  he  spoke  out  was  through  song.  In  1949,  he  did  just  that  by  writing  a  song  called  If  I  Had  A  Hammer.  In  the  song,  Seeger  talks  about  different  ways  we  can  help  all  of  our  brothers  and  sisters.  Seeger  wants  everyone  to  work  together,  share  everyone's  money  and  make  sure  everyone  has  a  fair  job.  

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man? How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand How many times must the cannon balls fly Before they're forever banned? The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Bob Dylan (1941-present)

 

Robert  Allen  Zimmerman  was  born  on  May  24th,  1941.  He  grew  up  in  Minnesota.  He  was  so  interested  in  music  that  he  taught  himself  to  play  piano  and  guitar.  In  his  youth,  he  changed  his  last  name  to  Dylan,  after  the  poet  Dylan  Thomas.    Bob  Dylan  went  to  the  University  of  Minnesota  in  1959,  where  he  began  performing  folk  music.  He  was  influenced  by  folk  singers  such  as  Leadbelly,  Pete  Seeger,  and  Woody  Guthrie.  Dylan  left  school  and  hitchhiked  to  New  York  City  to  where  many  folk  musicians  lived.    In  1961,  Bob  Dylan  signed  a  recording  contract  with  Columbia  Records.  Many  of  his  songs  have  political  lyrics,  and  he  is  a  poet  as  much  as  he  is  a  musician.  Dylan  was  the  leader  of  the  protest-­‐song  era  of  the  early  1960s.      Bob  Dylan  wrote  the  song  "Blowin'  in  the  Wind"  in  1962.  The  recording  of  this  song  by  Peter,  Paul,  and  Mary  in  1963  made  Dylan  famous.  The  song  asks  many  hard  questions  about  how  we  should  treat  one  another  and  how  we  should  solve  our  problems.  During  the  1960s,  America  was  at  war  in  Vietnam.  Many  Americans  were  against  this  war  and  staged  protests  hoping  to  end  the  war.    At  the  same  time,  African-­‐Americans  were  treated  unfairly.  Leaders  like  Martin  Luther  King,  Jr.  spoke  out  against  racism  in  America  and  folk  singers  like  Bob  Dylan  wrote  songs  hoping  to  encourage  unity.  Although  the  song,  Blowin'  In  The  Wind,  was  written  in  the  1960s,  it  is  still  popular  today.  Some  of  the  questions  he  asks  in  the  song  are  so  important,  we  can  apply  them  to  things  happening  today.