Woody Guthrie

Woody’s Childhood ◊ Born in Oklahoma, 1912

◊ Learned music at an early age

from parents.

◊ Early Tragedy

• Family home burned down

◊ Father and sister died

• Mother institutionalized

• Kids are left to care for themselves

◊ Woody was 14

Woody’s Childhood Home

Guthrie and the Depression

◊ Woody Hits the Road

• Like many “Okies”, he traveled toward CA to find work at age 19

• Hitched rides, hopped trains, and walked Route 66

• Played music for food and board

• "Goin Down The Road Feelin' Bad"

Guthrie and the Depression

◊ Arrived in California 1937

◊ Experienced scorn, hatred and even physical violence from Californians - didn’t like “Okies”

◊ Gets a job on the radio

• Used radio to tell the stories of what he saw on the road

Guthrie and the Depression ◊ His first-hand experience of life on the road and the

struggle of migrant workers influenced his songs

◊ Became a spokesman for the poor and working class

◊ Believed it was important to tell a realistic and true story about what it is like to be American

◊ Believed in government work programs, not handouts

◊ “This Land Is Your Land”

“I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that

this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work. And the songs that I sing are made to tell the story of folks just like you.”

“Wherever little children are hungry and cry, Wherever people ain't free.

Wherever men are fightin' for their rights, That's where I'm gonna be”