Music
has always made an impact on society. It can touch the soul
of anyone who takes the time to listen. In the 1920s, ‘30s
and even ‘40s, American music surged, singing the truth
and calling for protests to reform America. That time period
will forever be remembered through song.
Woody
Guthrie evoked the American spirit through his songs. In
the 1930s and ‘40s, he used his folk music as a catalyst
for change. During some of the hardest times the country
has ever faced, he prompted social awareness and activism.
With his guitar that proclaimed, “This Machine Kills Fascists”,
Guthrie provided a voice for the people who were otherwise
unheard.
Woody
Guthrie wrote over one thousand songs, including such respected
masterpieces as This Land is Your Land, So Long, It’s Been
Good to Know You, I Ain’t Got No Home, Dust Bowl Blues,
Do-Re-Mi, and a plethora of others. The experiences he went
through had become almost as renowned as the songs he composed.
Possessed
by an infinite inquisitiveness about the world, Guthrie
went on the road, living as a hobo, during the Great Depression.
He would hitchhike and ride the rails across America.
Through
his experiences travelling, Woody was able to transform
his experiences into songs. He was not singing about an
unknown reality. He was part of the society who was struggling.
Maybe it was his ingenuity to relate to the songs. Like
the Okies he describes, he also lived through the dust storms
and hardships that entangled the nation in this time. It
could have been his unquestionable ability to sing the truth
like no other. Guthrie’s “Dust Bowl Ballads” brought attention
to the plight of those suffering during the Dust Bowl in
Oklahoma in the 1930s. He also wrote songs supporting the
union, anti-Hitler songs before WWII, songs for migrant
workers as well as songs about prosaic people living ordinary
lives.
Nevertheless,
Woody Guthrie forever impacted that era, folk music, and
above all: America. His music offered a unique combination
of hope and hardship, practically defining the modern folk
genre and inspiring everyone from Bob Dylan to Phil Ochs
to his son, Arlo, along the way.
America,
regardless of whether it is flourishing or in times of crisis,
finds its soul in music. Whether it was the golden sounds
of the Jazz Age, the popular show tunes or calling for protest,
music in the 1920s, ’30s and ‘40s lives on today. This time
period will live on posthumously because it provided the
soundtrack to the turbulence and tranquility America went
through.
