Mortgage meltdowns, bank collapses, escalating fuel and food prices, to say nothing of an on-going war, the resurrection of the Taliban, and a long list of war-related issues---the list of woes seems to go on and on here in the good old USA at present. Global economic dynamics and interconnectedness seem to be pushing the limits of old school capitalism as the world stretches itself into new horizons, maybe we need a musical accompaniment to our current despair. Woody Guthrie, would have been 95 years-old on July 14th (or 96 depending on who is dating his birth), had he lived that long. Of course, he does live on, in the annals of popular music, and in terms of influence, but he's not around to create songs that speak to the present condition, the pain and hardship being experienced by people struggling to make ends meet in a time of economic woe.
Guthrie, famous for his song, This Land is Your Land, made his name by writing songs about the effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era. Remarkably, in this country, where leaning left is anathema, he managed to have a career and maintain a life-long association with the Communist Party. He believed that the Depression was an indication of the collapse of an unjust capitalist system, and he sang for its victims, the common people. His influence lives on in the works of people like Dylan, Springsteen, even Mellencamp.
Bob Dylan, summed up something about Woody's spirit with these words,
"And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin'
Where do you look for this lamp that's a-burnin'
Where do you look for this oil well gushin'
Where do y u look for this candle that's glowin'
Where do you look for this hope you know is there
And out there somewhere
And your feet can only walk down two kinds of road
Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows
Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways
You can touch and twist
And turn two kinds of doorknobs
You can either go to the church of your choice
Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You'll find God in the church of your choice
You'll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital
And though it's only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You'll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown.
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