Harmonizing History

Woody Guthrie's Musical Journey

through 1930s America

Ana Mateus 2021238416 Línguas Modernas

O Século Americano
Introduction

During the turbulent 1930’s, a time marked by social unrest, economic suffering, and
the quest for a shared identity, Woody Guthrie became known as a musical historian
of the American experience, keeping this title even nowadays. With the resort to a
strong opinion, accompanied by raw lyrics, Woody re-tells America’s history and its
significative transformations. The verses and melodies give voice to the wronged
ones, who had to deal with several struggles throughout the Great Depression. The
Dust Bowl became one of Woody’s most dealt with themes for songs, as he offered
his own perspective on every consequence resulting from it. Therefore, this essay
explores the complex relationship between Woody Guthrie’s artistic vision and the
turbulent history of the United States, proving how his songs represent the challenges
the population had to go through during these hard times.

USA’s Social, Political and Economic Context

The Roaring Twenties, the decade that followed the Great War and that led to the
Crash, was a time of wealth and excess. Building on post-war optimism, rural
Americans migrated to the cities in vast numbers, with hopes of finding a more
prosperous life in the ever-growing expansion of America’s industrial sector. A
cultural bonanza was in full swing, partly because of the development of commercial
radio stations and the cinema, since radio brought jazz music to the entire country and
cinema made modern life visible to even the most remote communities. Other
popular developments highlighted growing tensions over race and religion, which
emphasize how women's roles have been evolving, as seen by the rise of the
outrageous “flapper" (“a stylish young party girl” -History, 2022). While American
cities prospered, the overproduction of agricultural produce created widespread
financial despair among American farmers throughout the decade. Thus, the Wall
Street Stock Market crashed on 1929 -also known as the Black Tuesday- due to the
panic-selling of massive amounts of stocks and shares. There were many reasons and
causes for this Crash, including the optimistic feeling and overconfidence
characteristic of the 1920’s, because of the era’s economic boom. The rise of
American Consumerism led to the overproduction of consumer goods that were
attained as a result of easy credit schemes. The biggest consequences that resulted
from this included bankruptcies, high levels of unemployment, and social and
psychological scars. Due to all of this, the American Dream -or a form of the idea that
if you worked hard you’d prosper- seemed to no longer apply, and people were fired
because of circumstances beyond their control or even understanding. It’s safe to say
the Crash lead to the worst economic decade of the century.
Consequently, and somewhat obviously, came the Great Depression- a worldwide
economic depression in the decade preceding WWII, with its start in 1930 and lasting
until the mid 1940’s- making it the longest, most widespread and deepest depression
of the 20th century. No decade was more terrifying for the people than the 30’s: the
traumas of the decade included economic disorder, the rise of totalitarianism and the
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presence of war. Nevertheless, the decade is remembered in different ways
throughout the globe. For the people of the US, the 1930’s were undeniably the age of
the Great Depression. Bank panics destroyed faith in the economic system and
joblessness limited faith in the future. In 1932, however, with the country stuck in the
depths of this depression and 15 million people (more than 20% of the population)
unemployed, Democratic candidate Franklin Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory
in the presidential election. He took immediate action to address the country’s
economic woes.
In order to do this, a series of economic programs were institutionalised between
1933 and 1936, focused on what historians call the “3 R’s”: Relief for the poor and
unemployed, Recovery of the economy, and Reform of the financial system to
prevent another depression. Even after the application of the New Deal, luck didn’t
seem to be on America’s side, and the worst drought in modern American History
struck the Great Plains in 1934. Windstorms that stripped the topsoil from millions of
acres turned the whole area into a vast Dust Bowl and destroyed crops and livestock
in unprecedented amounts. Also known as “The Dirty Thirties”, it resumed in an
environmental disaster that hit the midwest. As a result, millions of people fled the
Plains states, many bound for California, where the promise of sunshine and a better
life collided with the reality of scarce, poorly paid work as migrant farm labourers.

Woody Guthrie

The son of a real-estate intermediary who fell on hard times, and of a woman who
suffered from a genetic nerve disorder. In his adolescence, Guthrie learned how to
play various instruments and mastered the art of singing. At 18, he moved to Texas,
where he experienced the Dust Bowl -a severe dust storm that swept across the
midwest in 1935, and inspired him to write the song “So Long, It’s Been Good to
Know You”, that will be later on analysed- and the fury of Black Sunday, after which,
Guthrie joined the ranks of Okies migrating to California in search of work, singing
old songs to migrants and hobos. However, his life there wasn’t easy: he went from
having to sleep on the ground, to being hungry and was even arrested. These
experiences though, were the fuel to his songs and stories, as well as an
autobiography. By decade’s end, his populist convictions led him to embrace
communism, although he was denied membership of the Communist Party, as he
refused to renounce religion. In 1940, he headed for New York, where he met the
Weavers and Pete Seeger. Guthrie took the city’s left-wing community by storm, and
extended his range of achievements: he performed on the network radio, wrote a
column for the communist newspaper, played at strikes and rallies and recorded for
the Folkways label. All the while, the self-taught folk singer studied politics,
economics, science and religion. Unfortunately, by this point, Guthrie was beginning
to suffer stages of depression. In 1952, he was diagnosed as an alcoholic and was
confined to a mental institution, where his problem was then correctly diagnosed as
the same degenerative nervous system disorder (genetically transmitted) that had
killed his mother. The disease kept him inactive and hospitalised for most of the
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remainder of his life. The years leading up to his death were characterised by painful
separations from his family, desperate attempts to write and bedside visits from
youthful admirers, such as Bob Dylan. Besides all of this, Woody Guthrie remains the
original folk hero, as it was him who, in the 30’s and 40’s, transformed the folk ballad
into a vehicle of social protest and observation. He revolutionised folk music when he
used it to express his own (often radical) views about society.

Woody’s Repertoire

As it was already mentioned, most Woody’s songs are based on events such as the
Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, never excluding topics like crisis, violence and
corruption. Therefore, in order to really understand the message Woody was trying to
pass and how he accomplished to do some, I will be analysing some of his songs in
detail.

Beginning with “Great Dust Storm Disaster”:

As it is pretty obvious by the title itself, the music will be making reference to one of
America’s worst eras. It not only makes allusion to death and doom, but also
mentions judgement as well. This is all written to tell a story, meaning it is a ballad,
like most of his songs were. His ballads were always very simple and easy to
understand, going straight to the heart of the matter. They were usually written on
heroic, romance or, most commonly, political actions. This specific one focuses on
showing the scale of the disaster.

“Do Re Mi”
Probably one of his most known works, being popular for the way he makes a social
critic so directly and with a brilliant play of words. Overall, the song deals with the
experiences and reception of the Dust Bowl migrants when they arrived in California.
Woody uses the “do re mi” -a system to learn music- adding a twist to the lyrics: he
treats the “do” as slang for ‘dough’, or in others words, money. Throughout the song,
he keeps referring to the migrants being illegally kept out of California in the Dust
Bowl time in the ‘30s. He then proceeds to say that if they don’t have money, they
might as well return to their homeland because, and I quote: “California is a garden
of Eden, a paradise to live in or see / But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot / If
you ain't got the do re mi”. The resume of this song is the illegal border.

“Talking Dust Bowl Blues”

This song is from a different genre of the ones mentioned above, belonging to the so-
called ‘blues’. This genre gets his name from its melancholic subjects and lyrics,
accompanied by unique harmonies. In this case, it’s adapted to a longer narrative,
providing the listeners the story of a typical Dust Bowl refugee. It follows a migrant
who trades his farm for a “Ford machine” and travels with his family to California,
arriving there “so dad-gum hungry I thought I’d choke”. Upon his arrival, his wife
prepares a stew, which the narrator claims was so thin he “could read a magazine
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through it”, proving once again that without money, one does not survive in the state
of California. The song concludes with the typical Woody reference to politics: “I
always have figured if it had been just a little bit thinner, some of these here
politicians could have seen through it”, also manifesting the social inequality.
Overall, this ballad is somewhat ironic being the so tragic it’s funny type, as well as
so funny it’s tragic.

“Dusty Old Dust”

The song’s original title was “So Long, It’s Been Good To Know Yuh”. As it is
perceptible by the title, this song addresses the theme of the Dust Bowl and its
consequent chaos and outcome. It contains features of general music, like repetitive
chorus. The composition talks about the hard times Americans went through during
the Great Depression, especially the “harsh weather and drought conditions”
experienced by farm workers. Throughout the song, Guthrie recounts how people fled
away, seeking refuge within their homes as their surroundings became swamped by
the storm.

“Vigilante Man”
This creation is about the mentioned “vigilantes”, who were hired thugs, and how
they would violently chase migrants away to California to escape the Dust Bowl. This
term (‘vigilante’) also made reference to those who infiltrated and crushed several
Dust Bowl labour movements. The vigilante of the song’s story line takes matters into
his own hands for the sake of justice. Woody claimed this song was a reflection of his
own personal experiences, describing a man who treated hobos “like a wild herd of
cattle” and who “shoots his brothers and sisters down”. Furthermore, he once again
uses music to approach important subjects such as social justice, corruption and the
abuse of power.

Conclusion

To sum up, Woody Guthrie’s essential role as a musical historian demonstrates the
deep link he has with the troubled history of the USA. This writer’s creative mind
was nourished by the social and economic circumstances present during the Great
Depression, alongside the terrible effects of the Crash of Wall Street. Guthrie’s
songwriting was also influenced by his life experiences, such as his own exposure to
Dust Bowl, and the consequent struggles related with refugees. By means of
exploring the everyday instances of individuals impacted by societal unfairness,
natural calamities and economical instability, Woody’s songs evolved to a platform
for needed criticism.

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66References:

Small, Janie. The Meaning Behind The Song: Talking Dust Bowl Blues by Woody
Guthrie, 2023.

Madden, Delores. The Meaning Behind The Song: Dusty Old Dust by Woody Guthrie,
2023.

Grady, Debora. The Meaning Behind The Song: Vigilante Man by Woody Guthrie,
2023.