woody guthrie - American Philatelic Society

Transcription

WOODY GUTHRIE
His Life and His Songs
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was one of the United States' most influential folk musicians. Among the more
than 2500 son,qs he wrote are such American folk standards as This Innd Is Your Land and So Long, It's Been
Good to Know You.ln 1998. the U.S. Postal Service finally honored Woody on a stamp, after a decade long
campaign organized by his family, friends, and fans. This Display Division exhibit tells the story of Woody's
life and illustrates some of his song lyrics with stamps, covers, postal stationery, and other philatelic material,
enhanced by various non-philatelic items.
Collins hand
painted
cachet. Bull's
eye style first
day of issue
handstamped
postmark.
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WOODY
GUTHRIE
autograph cover.
Note return
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WOODYGUTHRIE
His Life and His Songs
PLAN OF EXHIBIT:
I. WooDY GU'THRIE: WAY DOWN YONDER
1.1 Oklahoma Origins
1.2 Name
1.3 The Making of
1
aMusician
4 Family Disintegration
1.5 The Texas Years
II. WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO
THE NEW YORK ISI.AND
2.1 An Okie in LA.
22 New York City
2.3 Roaming and Rambling
24 Political Views
25 Union Troubadour
2.6 The Pacifi c Northwest
Woody Guthrie self-portrait,
published in Bound for Glory
by Woody Guthrie.
III. WOODY GUTHRIE: A CHILD TO FIGHT
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
Partisan Songster
Wartime Service: U.S. Merchant Marine
Wartime Service: U.S. Army
War's Aftermath
rV. WOODY GUTHRIE: BOUND FOR GLORY
4.1 A Living Irgend
4.2Creatle Artist
4.3 Maniage and Fatherhood
4.4 Religion
45 Tragic Fires
V. WOODY GUTHRIE: THE CRAZELDY NIGHTMARE
5.1 Another Tragedy: Huntington's Disease
5.2Enat.c Behavior
5.3 Last Years
5.4 Passing
VI. WOODY GUTHRIE: EPILOGUE
6.1 The Woody Guthrie Stamp of 1998
Woody Guthrie stamp was issued
as part of a se-tenant block
honoring four American folk
muslclans.
MUSICAL NOTE:.Unless otherwise indicated in write-ups, all song lyrics are by Woody Guthrie or are
Woody Guthrie's versions of traditional folk pngs. Woody sometimes composed original tunes, but more often
adapted existing melodies for his songs.
PIIILATELIC NOTE: Basic letter and post card rates (surface or air mail) are generally no{ indicated, nor are
philatelic overpayments. Multiple rates and fees for special services are generally indicated when they can be
determined.
WOODY GUTHRIE: WAY DOWN YONDER
1.1 OKLAHOMA ORIGINS
Woody Guthrie was born July 14, 1912.in Okemah, Oklahoma,
the third of five children to Charles Guthrie and the former Nora Belle Tanner.
1912 usage from Okemah.
D IEIFdR ADDR ESS
i"
",Pfu&St
Okemah in 1925, when
Woody was 13 years old.
Real photo post card
published by Auburn Post
Card Manufacturing Co.
Okemah, Okla.
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Woody Guthrie's
birthplace as it appeared
in 1979. Photo credit:
Walter Smalling.
1.I OKLAHOMA ORIGINS
settlers in the
The Guthrie family had migrated to Oklahoma from Texas, and were amgng tr: ..?tt.V ry.o l{tul
from
Kansas.
came
who
Guthrie
a
John
after
named
i"rit"ry. The tow; ;f-dAft;-;the tenitorial capital, was
ancestors.
Woody's
direct
of
Wttiir fre might have been a distant relative, he was not one
Bun
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rsiltp.@
Adwcales
FIffiT DAY
OF ISSIJE
FtEtl.rndRrD,IASO
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Tenitorial usage from Governor's office in Guthrie. 1893.
I.1 OKLAHOMA ORIGINS
OKLAHOMA HILLS
A tribute to Woody's native state. Woody's original version was rewritten
by his cousin Jack Guthrie, whose 1944 recording of it became a major country hit.
Way down yonder in the Indian nation,
my pony on the reservation,
I rode
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born.
Way down yonder in the Indian nation,
A cou'boy's life is my occupatiott,
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born.
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Postmarked on Woodv's
80th birthday.
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Plate number block of 39A Oklahoma
Statehood Centennial stamp.
9il r F;
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Straet
'lFost Carb
This side is lor th€ addr€ss only.
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l.l OKLAHOMA ORIGINS
DOWN IN O.KLAY-HOMA
Another of \S/oody's musieal tributes to
his native state.
I come from a land of CiviliaedTribes,
Down in O-klay-homa,
Cattle go grazy and the cowpokes ride,
Down in O-kl.ay-homa,
Prexiest clouds that ever did blow,
Prettiest girls that ever did grow,
Makes rny toes all itch ta go,
Down ino-klay-hsma.
Five Civilized Tribes
offrcial mail cover.
i'i
I
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Stamp honoring the
Five Civilized Tribes
of Oklahoma pud39
international post card
rate to Austria. Postwar civil censorship
still in effect rn 1949.
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edolf Kose1
Vienna
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nustria
I .1. OKLAHOMA ORIGINS
DON'T KILL MY BABY AND MY SON
Woody's boyhood in Oklahoma was at a time of endemic racial violence.
In 1911, the year before Woody was born, a lynch mob forcibly seized a
black woman named Laura Nelson and her l5-year old son Lawrence
Nelson from the Okfuskee County jail in Okemah after the son had been
accused of fatally shooting a white deputy sheriff, and then hanged them
from a bridge juit west of town. The mob also seized but later abandoned
l,aura Nelsonts nursing baby, and a black family then rescued the infant.
Although the evidence is inconclusive, Woody's father might have taken
part in ihe lynching, and that thought haunted Woody all his life.
I walked down that old dark town,
In the town where I was born,
As
I heard the saddest lonesome moan,
I ever heard before.
My hair it trembled at the roots,
Cold chills ran down my spine,
As I drew near that jail house,
I heard this deathly cry:
"Oh, don't kill my baby and my son,
Oh, don't kill my baby and my son,
You can stretch my neckfrom thot old river bridge,
But don't kill my baby and my son."
The Okemah lynching was among the
incidents that led activist W.E.B.
DuBois to launch a campaign in 1911
calling for a Federal anti-lynching law.
Soviet propaganda postal card depicting a lynching inthe lnitedStatgs._C_qpqiqn in Russian reads:
DOW}.I WITH LYNCHING! LONG LIVE THE NEGRO WORKER!
I.2 NAME
Woody's full name was Woodrow Wilson Guthrie. His parents were staunch Democrats,
and they named him after the recently nominated Democratic Party candidate for President.
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Five Sl Woodrow Wilson stamps are the dry printed variety. first issued in 1954.
THE \^/HITE HOUSE
Official White House
cover from Woodrow
Wilson's presidency'.
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WOODY GUTHRIE: wAY DOWN YONDER
I 1, TH tr l\,{ A ta INrl r)tr A N/ t Iq,Tr-I A \
Woody's musical background came from his family. His father played guitar, his mother played piano. and both
parenti sang. However. a few -guitar lessons fronr his uncle Jeff Guthrie were Woody's only formal musical
instnrction. ln addition to guitar. Woody taught himself to play harmonica. fiddle. and rnandolin.
Restored portion of illustrated advertisin_g cover pictures all four instrunrertts
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lrar-rnonica f idrl le tviolirr) rnar-rdolin. and gtt itar.
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EBANJOT?A.
Stratton
frut Yrouu $TRrnos,
Accordeon$.
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Finest Tcned $trings
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Stratton Guitars.
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Band Instruments.
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New York, March 5th, 1892.
"Iampleased to saythat Strrtton's
Russian Gut StrinES are the best
toned and most durable Strings I
ever used."
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Tours trulv-
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fro
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Davo Braham.
Carl Thorbah n,
Ilusical Dir-
ector. Standard Theatre orchestra.
chica,go, Ills., April 14, 1892.
trIes"rs. Jobn F. Stratton & Son,
Dear Sirs.-T am pleased to be able
to state that I can hiehly recommend
I'our Russian Gut Strings fur durability and tone.
Your orders for them should be
tremendoug.
Yours truly,
Carl Thorbahn.
2c postage = double I c per 2 ounces 3rd class rate for printed matter.
Corer was t !\'rapper fol' a nrusical supp!r" cotnpat!Jv catalogue.
7-
1.3 THE MAKING OF A MUSICIAN
Beyond the family, the musical influences on Woody were varied: hvmns and Cospel songs. square dance
tunes. railroad and hobo songs. cowbov songs. old-time ballads. and African-American folk sones and biues.
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The harmonica rvas the first musical instrument that Woodv played.
frorn African-Atlerican hannortica players in Okernah. Oklahortra.
havin_e lealned
ituifiEPr0DcERs
JIMMIER()IXTR\
si[silq
Brahm
ktr'ryry$S4.,
hrimmingArtsUSAl&
hrformingArtslNAlk i
Woody was also influenced by commercially recorded country music.
especially by the rnusic of the Caner Farnily and of Jirnmie Rogers.
both of whose first recordings were released when Woody was l5 -vears old.
hrform
LISTEN TO THE MUSIC
Most likely Woody' s first composition. He claimed he made it up when he was about four years old.
Listen to the music,
Music, music.
Listen to thz music,
Music band.
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IHIS PHOTOGRAPH II^Y BE REPRODUCED FOR PHILATELIC, EDUCATIONAL, HISTORICAL AND NEWS.
.ORTHY PURPOSES, IN BLACK AND YHITE, IN ANY SIZE. IT AAY NOT BE USED FOR ADVERTISING
PURPOSES- EXCEPT PHILATELIC ADVERTISING
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L-'.S.PosrAGE 5
dExrs
Official U.S. Post Ofhce Department
publicity photogr-aph.
Precanceled stamp pud8.4A 3rd class bulk rate.
EDrreyfus
Service Corporation
6oo Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. roozz
I.3 THE MAKING OF A MUSICIAN
BILLY THE KID
Woody's version of a traditional ballad about the young murderer who terrorized New Mexico. Earlier versions
had been recorded by Carson Robison and by Frarik Crummitt, eachdiffering slightly from one an9th91. Yoq9V.
a"uriop"O an early fascination with outlaw 6allads, probably from^ $e -old timers in Okemah , and Billy the Kid
rous a1nong his favorites. Woody later borrowed the fune for part of So Long, It's Been Good to Know You.
I'll
I'll
tell you a story of Billy the Kid,
tell you of some of the things that he did,
Way out in the West when our country wcts young,
When your gun was your law and your law was your qun-
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Middle: SILYER CITY N. MEX. territorial usage.
there from New York City with his family when he was 14 years old.
Billy (Henry McCarty) moved
Bottom: FORT SUMNER N. MEX. territorial usage.
Fort Sumner is where Sheriff Pat Garreff killed Billy, then age 21, in 1881.
BELLE STARR
Another of Woody's outlaw ballads, spun from stories he heard back in Okemah. This one tells about the life,
particularly the love life, of a notorioui female outlaw. The real Belle Starr often wrote her name by drawing a
bell and a star.
Belle Starr, Belle Starr, tell me where have you gone,
Since old Oklahama's red sand hills you roamed?
Is it Heaven's wide street you now tie the reins?
Are you single-footing somewhere's below?
tt'AY
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P.fi|.
Right New York Foreign Mail star
cancellationonT( issue of 1873.
Eight
Eight
Eight
Eight
men, they say, combed your blackwavy hair,
men knew the feel of your dork leather waist,
men loved your tan leather circling skirt,
men heard the bark of the guns that you wore.
Nelson's Drug Store
1608 West Park Ave.
Orange, Texas 77630
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1974
Vzoro-
JFRRY STRACH
450 MARIN AVi.
MILL VALLEY,
CA,
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1.4 FAMILY DISINTEGRATION
From l9l9 to 1930, young Woody lived through one family disaster after another: several fires (including one
that killed his older sister Clara Guthrie), his father's business failures and unemployment, the death of an uncle
in a motorcycle accident, periods of homelessness, and finally his mother's mental ind ptrysical breakdown and
eventual death from a hereditary disease then known as Huntington's chorea.
NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY
'
909 Smith Tower
SEATTLE, WASH.
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OIrSEN,
HOMELESS
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8Ox 1159,
CIIILDREN
charity label.
TAKIUA, 1IASIII[C{!or
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OUT OF BUSIIIF^SS auxiliary marking.
CLERK ST]PR
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NORMAN, OKLA. flag machine cancellation. Norman was the site of the state mental institirtion
where Woody's mother was confined from lV27 untrl her death in 1930. When Woody last visited his mother in
1928, she could no longer recognize him. A similar fate would eventually befall Woody himself.
I .4 FAMILY DISINTEGRATION
A DOLLAR DOWN
Woody's version of an old country song that pokes fun at going-into debt. An earlier version had been recorded
by a medicine show performer named enris Bouchillon. Actually., buying and_selling 9n4 9n credit proved to
bi: ttre downfall of Woody's father. Once one of the richest men in Okemah, Charles Guthrie would later say,
"I'm the only man who ever lost a farm a day for 30 days."
Friend of mine bought an automobile,
At a dollar down and a dollar a week,
Every time he turned the wheel,
It was a dollar down and a dollar a week.
He went ridtng down the road,
Pinched this girl upon her cheek,
Speed cop took him to the judge,
He got a dollar down and a dollar a week.
lOa Bankin-g and Commerce stamps
(shown as plate number block) and cover
belorv picture the Morgan Silver Dollar,
last minted in 1921.
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Senes 1928 Sl Silver Certificate. first placed into circulation in early 1929.
1 5 THE TEXAS YEARS
At the age of 17, Woody went to live with relatives in the Texas Panhandle town of Pampa. He soon dropped
out of high school and began doing odd jobs, such as sign painter or soda jerk. It was in Pampa that Woody got
married for the first of three times. It was also in Pampa that he started playing music professionally.
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?evee,Texrs
Schneider Hotel cover. Woody would
eventually perform for the Pampa
Chamber of Commerce at the Schneider
Hotel, Pampa's finest at the time. Other
noted musicians who played at the
Schneider Hotel included Tex Ritter,
Hank Thompson, Jimmy Wakely,
Bob Wills, and Guy Lombardo.
Local precancel.
Photo of the Harris Drug Store where
Woody worked as a soda jerk.
Building now houses the Woody
Guthrie Folk Music Center of Pampa,
publisher of the photo.
lr-i
this bnilding a rran picked up a guitar and changed the world.
The Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center of Pampa
320 South Cuyler Pampa, Texas
WOODY GI-J-IHRIE: WAY DOWN YONDER
I.5 THE TEXAS YEARS
By
1936, Woody had developed quite a reputation as a musician in and around Pampa. In that year he led the
Texas Centennial Band, six musicians in cowboy garb who played for the Texas Centennial celebrations.
Texas Centennial poster stamp.
Woody. at left. with his band.
Photo published in Woody Gurhrie: a Ltfe
b1'Joe Klein.
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Texas Centennial stamp on cover with
TEXAS CENTENNIAL STATION exposition cancellation.
WOODY GUTHRIE: wAY DOWN YONDER
1.5 THE TEXAS YEARS
THE RANGER'S COMMAND
leads a group of cowboys in fighting off a band of cattle rustlers.
Woody based this song on a tradiiional cowboy ballad called The Fair Maid From the Plains.
A well armed woman
We startedfor the canyon in the fall of the year,
Expecting to get there with a herd of fat steer,
And the iustlirs broke on us in the dead hours of night'
She rose from her warm bed a battle to fight.
She rose from her warm bed with a gun in each hand,
Said, "Come all of ltou cowboys and fight for your land.
Come all of you cowboys and don't ever run,
As long as there's bullets in both of your guns."
,/6\t'\EllI/6h
RANGE CONSERVATION
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1961
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1W[[TsADDtECSMPANY
3I1X*TF;;'J SAN FRANCTSC0, CAr,.
Advertising corner card similar to design later used for Range Conservation stamp.
WEST''
1.5 THE TEXAS YEARS
BUFFALO SIflNNER.S
Woody's version of a traditional ballad about the hardships and dangers of buffalo hunting. Many versions
exist, all ending with the party of buffalo skinners killing the boss who they feel cheated them out of their righr
ful pay
Come all you old time cowboys and listen to my song,
Please do not grow weary, I'll not detain you long,
Concerning some wild cowboys who did agree to go,
And spend a summer pleasant on the range of the buffalo.
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G|CILF HclLItrlAY 5Ftr4
BOX 1323, MYRTLE BEACH,' SC
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FORWARDING AND ADDRESh, .Tg j.,,I
CORRECTION
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BUFFALO N.Y. machine cancellation applied when postal card was returned to
sender.
Promotional message printed to private order when postal card was produced.
1.5 THE TEXAS YEARS
EAST TEruS RED
Woody's tale of how a tough railroad man meets his death at the hands of two hoboes he had wronged.
Down in the scrub oak timber of the Southeast Texas Gulf,
There used to live a brakeman, a brakeman double tough,
He worked the town of Kilgore and Longview nine miles down,
Us travekrs called him East Tems Red, the meanest bull around.
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Longview and Galveston Railway Post Office postmark.
The story takes place along this line.
Red went to his knees and he hollered, " Pleese, don't pull that trigger on me!
I did not get m)t business fixed," btlt he did not get his say-
A gun wheeled out of an overcoat, and it played the old one-two,
And Redwas deadwhen the other two men sat down to eat their stew.
I.5 THE TEXAS YEARS
DRY SPELL ON THE PLNNS
Woody was living in Pampa with his first wife, the former Mary Jennings, when the droughts and
dust storms of the tg30s turned the middle of the country into what became known as the Dust Bowl.
I
was a-grubbing on a piece of land,
When this dry spell hit the plains,
Raising up some crops to pay the debts
That old dust cloud come a-rolling,
I owe.
Wife she prayed, and our kids all bawling,
Whenwefought this awful dry spell on the plains.
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When we fought this awful dry spell on the plains,
Whcnwefought this awful dry spell on the plains,
Tumbling weeds and drifting sands,
Great big blisters on my hnnds,
When we fought this awful dry spell on the plains.
RC'ADRUNNER STAMP COMPANY
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SAVE OUR SOIL:
BOX 7a5
wlLLtAMS, ARTZONA A6046
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$aate firaiea, Calif.
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WOODY GLTTHRIE: WAY DOWN YONDER
I.5THETD(AS YEARS
DUST STORM DISASTER
(or THE GREAT DUST STORM )
Woody was living in Pampa when this greatest
of all dust storms blackened the sky.
On the 14th day of April,
of 1e3s,
There struck the worst of dust storms,
That ever filled the sky.
Congress created the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 as
a direct result of this storm.
In 1983, the Soil Conservation Service became
one of the first two
federal agencies
du
authorized to use
modern official
mail starnps.
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I.5 THE TEXAS YEARS
DUST PNEUMONY BLUES
Title refers to several pulmonary conditions
and tuberculosis, among others
- pneumonia, pneumoconiosis, bronchitis, emphysema,
- that were either caused or exacerbated by dust from dust storms.
I got that dust pneumony, pneumony in my lung,
I got that dust pneumany, pneumony in my lung,
And I'm gonrut sing this dust pneumony song.
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TB hospital.
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fu^.-t/ %,7-
Christmas Seal issued by National Tuberculosis Association.
Now there ought to be some yodeling in this song,
There ought to be some yodeling in this song,
But I can't yodel for the rattling in my lung.
Verse about yodeling refers to the singing style populaizedby
Jimmie Rodgers who died from TB in 1933 at the age of 35.
Rodgers had been a musical inspiration for Woody Guthrie.
Y.
1 .5 THE TEXAS YEARS
SO LONG,IT'S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YOU
One of Woody's best known songs began as his musical farewell
to what he called "the wild windy plains" of the Texas Panhandle.
So long, it's been good to know you,
This dusn' old dust is a-getting my home,
And I'r'e'got to be driftiig ating.
INTERNATIONAL DRY.
FARMING CONGRESS
AND EXPOSITION slogan
cancellation. 1915. Many of
the techniques developed to
increase crop yields later led
to severe soil erosion.
a -
,*'-,-:::-r,-------.--------
On or before Septdmber first, after date, for value received,
"t
I or we, promise to ,Bay to the orrler of THn A. J.
-This note is give! in consideration for money advance* by lhe Bayee, as premium for Hail Insurance on my
crops, colrsisting of --J,-4-.:-----?cr€s of-i.i-*;+,.-/ow growing oo ',thu.,------.--..--.----of Sec..-..-.-2--------gwp.-2-6------
e.i:;;l;.i.*:J_-J;l;;il;;;Iil;.'{:.
e."su.--;.-.-i..-.- .i" d"-a;;;;;
...-., ioi s,a,"
Fo.f Jbf pûrpose of obtaiuing cletlit, I or we, ryke the folffoTifirglDroperty statement and declare same to be trub:
I own--*-t1:---C.-----acres of larid, worth.93f*3{.encumb*encebtr laad., $-.;:-.--.'.:-i-----Value of Bersoni:l Broperty other
"i-.,I;--:l.-
than crop herein described, S-L\.e-tt-l--:6ncumbrance on personaf,-ilrtberty, g---:*---Eneumbrance on crop, g-Jj
-
To secure the plyment of this note, I or *C- L"hereby nortgage ind
c$nvey to TEE
A. J. SEAW INYESTMENT COMPANY.
hB premluD note is glveD, thrs note shal imediately beCom€
case of full compliance with all the tems and conbe brought for the coliection of this note the Daker agre6 to
r be void in
Federal revenue stamps used on a Kansas farmer's Promissory note. 1924.
Many such farmers said "So long, it's been -sood to know you" to their homes in the 1930s.
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
2.I AN OKIE IN L.A.
In 1937 Woody made his way to California, ending up in Los Angeles. He soon began to find some success
with a regular series of radio programs. Many of his listeners were fellow refugees from the Dust Bowl.
The future beckons: LOS
ANGELES, CAL. machine
cancellation from when
Woody was one day old:
July 15, 1912.
A, T. MERCER
2OOO
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Figueroa Stroet
LOS ANOELE6
;i'
OAL I FORN IA
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JO-RA BRASS & ALUMINUM 4OUNDRY'
755 North Spring Street,
LOS ANGELES, CALIF'ORNIA.
i,i f $eanLon, Ty1 c.
ll4tr I Ve rrront .,tr'b .
1
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/le IAF
I 11rI
L.A.1937: Hello,
Woody! 2(, local
letter rate.
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WOODY CALIF. postmark. On the 1fth anniversary of Guthrie's arrival,
Los Angeles temporarily changed its name to Woody. (Only kidding, of course!)
2.1 AN OKIE IN L.A.
DO RE MI
Woody's warning to would-be migrants that only
with sufficient money would be welcome to
enter California. The others were often turned
back at the state line.
those
If you ain't got the do re mi, boys,
If you ain't got the do re mi,
Well, you better go back to beautiful Texas,
Oklahoma, Georgia, Kansas, Tennessee.
Califurnia is a Garden of Eden,
It's a paradise to live in or to see,
But believe it or not, you won't.find it so hot,
If ,r"ou ain't got the do re mi.
8j*.'ff,y
(TIIR
R-534
BUDGET BUREAU NO. €-R@T
APPROVAL EXPIRES MAY 3t, Tgi$
UNITED 5TATES OF A}IEruq-OFFICE OF PRICE ADIIINISTRATIOI|I
MILEAGE RATIOT{ING RECORD
DESCRIPTTON OF VEHIGIE
LICENSE
>'l
NO.
{-+3 I
I
YEAR
STATE LINE CAL. postmark.
ltis
STIIB, when <rpproved by c Wor Price oad.Rotioniug Boord
c record ol lhe -ileage rationtissued,
becomes
IT MTTST BE PRESENIID TCI TIE BOARD WITH EtrOH
APPIJIOATION I1OR A GASOI,INEhATION;
DO NcrT WRITE IN SPACE W$IIN HEI\|Y IJINE
No. oF RATIoN lssuED
I DAr oF lssuE
SERTAL
8a rtc
STATE OF REGISTRATION
a-!
6-
|
COUNTY AND
?/rf lr.f
-, tl
c.
ADDRESS TO WHTCH RATION IS TO BE
(Print or Vpe.)
MAILE!:
SIG.ryATURE OF ISSUING OFFICER
\-
I
C.C
-l
indorse 'ALrL your
NAME
copons os soon cts you
gt thern.
STREET,AND NU
EE'.P KtrLI. T!ilE
ZONE NO. AND ETATE
BI.AGK III,ARKET!
L
l6*39e5i-
r
Middle: An old Ford, such as the one pictured behind Henry Ford on the stamp, was the car that brought many
Dust Bowl families to California. l2Q post card rate in effect only from March 22 through Octobei 31 , l98l .
Bottom: World War II era Mileage Rationing Record for a 1929 Ford.
2.I AN OKIE IN L.A.
VIGTLANTE MAN
Woody's song about the armed posses that tried to keep une,mployed migrants out of California and several
other westein states in the 1930s. These vigilantes were often members of local American Legion posts.
Oh, why does a vigilante man,
Why does a vig,ilante man,
Carn, that sawed off shotgun in his hand?
Would he shoot his brother and sister down?
,1;j;lj,:ri;1
' ''ocr 'T'
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ro ti, .',.,
"'
1*1.
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\,92'1."
-.:-1--
VIA
RETUNN
IN FIVE DAYg
I
TO
hrtu"fu&".
'Ponrrrxob Owx Srone'
.PORTLAND
rr
rra,arxrx,!om[or,
OFIEGON
^$DEF
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9ra,
)
ON-TO.OREQON u'ith the
AMERICAN LEGION
lll
CONVENTION
NOVt
lil\
SEPT. 12-15,1932
CELEBRATINE
75 YEARS
PORTLAXD,
OREoOII
OREGON-The PlaYground of America
PORruAND
'N
Top ri_eht: Cover flown on record air mail flight from.San Antonio to New York City
in conjunction with American Le-sion convention held in San Antonio.
Bottom: American Legion convention promotion on reverse.
Meter stamp shows AD'L lC PD. because letter rate had recently increased fromZg to
39..
WOODY GUTHRIE: F-ROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEw YORK ISLAND
2.1 AN OKIE IN L.A.
HOOVERSVILLE
,,r_!{L-,,_
It was in Los Angeles that Woody first saw the
Depression era shanty towns named in mock
tribute to Herbert Hoover. Of course, by the
time Woody reached L.A., Hoover had already
been out of office for four years.
r..fth-
^\-----
Ramb ling, gamb ling, rickety shacks,
That's. Hooversville!
Rusty tin and raggedy sacks,
That's Hooversville!
On the skeeter bit end of the garbage dump,
30 million people slump,
Down where the big rats run and jump,
In Hooversville!
Former President Hoover's free franking.
/Ur4-->
HERBERT C. HOOVER
AUGUST 10, 1874
)
n
!
t)
$
!
,\
tuahfu
u'
From
Hoover's
rIOOVERe
Jlc/nlie
PREEIDENgT
/,Lpil,,,*fl*,
unsuccessful
reelection
campaign of
t932.
FOR
AN OKIE IN L.A.
2.1
OLD LONE WOLF
Theme song of Woody's radio program on station KFVD in Los Angeles when he broadcast solo, 1938-1939.
Earlier programs on the same station had been with his cousin Jack Guthrie or with Maxine "Lefty Lou"
Crissman. Between verses Woody would howl like a wolf.
Just
The
The
The
drop whatever you're a-doing,
OId Inne Wolf is here to barkfor you.
lonesomer I get, well,
loncsomer I yell!
'--*---
'\__*-s:
--^"
-:/,/
-*
-"------f
-':u*--".o',€
-***-,"..-
Perhaps Woody was inspired
by a small town in his native
Oklahoma!
Iho Serond World lfor
(onodo mohilizs its re$u(e!
346L Highway Drive,
Irail, B. C.,
VIR
2TB
,!
;:1
,"I
Canadian Wi]dlife Federftio
t5?3 Carlchg , hv6
$ '!
Ottawa, Ont "
> $fEpryL
K2A )ZL,
L
"'-
Pn$TE.LETTRE
LETTEBMAIL SPEC'AIE-
Canada Pod gorporation I SsgEta caniin-nne
Ocs
ms6
619 Timber Wolf stamp paid part of $3 special lettermail rate = 39(,letter rate + $2.0t special delivery fee.
Rate combination in effect for only one year, January 1 through December 31, 1990.
WOODY GI.ITHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
AN OKIE IN L.A.
2.1
PHILADELPHIA I-AWER
One of Woody's most popular songs from his Los Angeles radio program was this humorous tale of a love
triangle involving a Pennsylvania attorney, a Nevada cowboy, and a California beauty. In the end, the lawyer
was the big loser!
Walt out in Reno, Nevads,
Where the romances blnom and theyfade,
Was a great Philadelphia lawyer,
In bve with a Hollywood maid.
Now, Bill wes a gun toting outlaw,
With 10 notches carved on his gun,
Ard all of the boys around Reno,
l,eft WiA Biil's darling alone.
niwO-trt. lcrqest citt, in Nevadc is ideaUy 3
in fertile mecdows, on the bdnks oI
!
lhe Truckee River, qnd surrounded by the ;--mqiestic Sierrq Nevcdq Moutains. The qbun- / 6. I
dcDt bequties md attractions of this cosmo-/ S.v '
polit@ city, its zestlul md sporkling lile/i, ) -:.. justifies tha cldim to "The Biggest Little Cit{ ^l JIjL
i
in the World."
\" 5:"p
situated
)rs."rC.r,^.\o$t.
,
qP
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Sn o-k'q '
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Well, tonight back in oA Permsylvania,
Arrcng her beautiful pines,
There's one lcss Philadelphia lawyer,
In old Philadelphia tonight.
Cover from a pair of Philadelphia lawyers.
wooDYGUTHRIE:FROMCALIFORNIAToTI{ENEWYORKISLAND
2.1 AN OKIE IN L.A.
TOM JOAD
condensed and
migration to california, The Grapes of wrath'
John Steinbeck,s novel of an oklahoma family's
w..Jv';r"',17 versei he lot the entire story of a
serto music by woody. Steinbeck rut"r^"o*inenteiabout
thing that took me two years to wnte!"
Tom Joad. got out of the old McAlester pen'
There he got his Parole,
killing charge'
|o"i torg yrort on a man
poor boy'
Tom Joad come a-walking down the roa'd''
roa'd'
Tom Joad come a-walking down the
ijiri
Postmark of McAlester, Oklahoma,
siie of the Penitentiary where the
title charact6r had been imprisoned'
$alllgaw OK
I
I
fi.H' Bohman
RR f1
52401
Gedar RaPi;;' iowa
:
%- Cl E A',*,*- {/-"-+
$rd'/-?;
{@"a'- 6rts6
2.1 AN OKIE IN LA.
In 1939, upon John Steinbeck's recommendation, Hollywood producer Darryl
F. Zanuck hired Woody as
into
a
movie
was
released
the following year.
that
a musical advisor when The Grapes of Wrath was made
In$n
ITTnI
TInII
IIn n
ry
d
ry
TIF-Gtlffs of WnIhil & @ 1940, 2004 Twentieth Century
A[ dgh$ reservd.
Fox Film Corporation.
o
2004 usPs
Henry Fonda played the part of Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath,
as shown in right margin of pane of 379 Henry Fonda stamps.
2.1 AN OKIE IN L.A.
PRETTY BOY FLOYD
"hetty Boy," Woody Guthrie liked to say, "had the right idea but the wrong system." Woody's portrayal of the
notorious Oklahoma-born bank robber as a modern day Robin Hood was intended to entertain Okie migrants
and at the same time offend respectable Angelinos. It proved successful in doing both.
If _r;ou'll gather 'round me, children,
A story I will tell,
About PretQ Bo-v- Flot,d, the outlaw,
Oklahoma knew him v'ell.
's;
\
ilOTTifl'l t:,;.r.M
F EgT I's,i L
11-26 July
1970 1 .:.
Messrs J.'.Y.Spear & Sons Ltd
Green Street,
3{3rrl,p,
!ll ddlcsex.
,,,5\n4Hbx
/a-" AUG
r.:-)
.\'rrll c2-! through this v'orld I rarnble.
I see lois of fiutrtt ntert.
Sonte v'ill rob tou tt'ith a si.t-gurt.
Anrl some u'itlt a forttuain pen.
Bttt as through his life tou rantble.
And as through this life tou rolm.
You'll never see an outlcnr,
Drive a famiih' from their honte.
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\\,OODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
Weary of the Hollywood dominated atmosphere. Woody left Los Angeles for New York City in early 1940.
After a short return to Los Angeles in i 941 . \\/ood1' came back to New York to join a newly formed folk group
called the Almanac Singers. \Voodv then rnade New'York his home for most of his remaining life.
J}- ,-q
{€) s')
r
YJ
Postnrark and meier stamp
\\-ood\"s coast-
ir-e-rt.t I9-10.
to-coast transition r ear.
\\ioody's portrait of the
.\lmanac Singers. Published in
.\Iv ,\ttme /s,Vell lorft by Nora
Guthrie and the Woody Guthrie
\rchives. Front rorv left to right:
Pete Seeger. Lee Hays. Sis
Cunningham, Woody Guthrie,
.
%
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
One of the Almanac Singers' job offers was to perform at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center.
They turned it down because the management wanted them to appear in stereotypical hillbilly costumes.
1617
,(D
ROCKEFELLER CENTER, New York City. Cast in bronze and covered
by gold leaf, this 18-ft. - high sculpture of Prometheus by Paul lvanship
siands in the Lower Plza. Seasonally the Lower Plaa features outdoor
[]
earrul:o
SIS CUNNINGHAM autograph. Sis was
\\'oodr,'s fellow Oklahoman. and one of
t\\'o rvomen in the Almanac Singers.
ROCKEFELLER CTR. STA. postmark.
Obverse of identical
post card picturing
Rockefeller Center.
n
searru
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
New York Times obituary for Sis (Agnes) Cunningham, June 30,2004.
Photo shows the Almanac Singers with Woody at the left and Sis at the right.
.i
rHEN Ew yoRK rrMESoBrruARr Es
Agnes Cunningham,
i
*!::!:"1",*
95, Dies; Sowed the,seeds of Folh Music
By BEN SISARIO
Agnes Cunningham, a founder of
rhe influential folk-song journal
Broadside, died on Sunday at a nurs-
ing home in New Paltz, N.Y., her
daughter Jane Friesen said. She was
95.
Broadside, begun by Ms. Cunningham and her husband, Gordon Friesen, in 1962, published more than
1.000 topical songs during its 26-year
run, including some of the first works
b1'Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Janis Ian,
Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tom Paxton.
Though its circulation never reached
higher than four figures, it lasted for
187 issues and played a significant
role in the development of the
:;t ;4
#,
60's
folk style.
"This very small magazine, it
reached key people throughout the
country," Pete Seeger, a frequent
contributor, said yesterday. "When a
good song came along, it got picked
up right away."
For the magazine's first issues,
\{s. Cunningham, known as Sis, and
\1r. Friesen invited musicians from
the New York folk scene to their
apartment in the Frederick Douglass housing project on West l04th
Street in Manhattan t<i perform their
newest songs into a reel-to-reel tape
recorder.
They chose songs with strong left-
rst politics and a direct style, and
stated their aims in the first issue
witi a quotation from
Woody Guthrie
that "a good song can only do good."
"We favored singers who were
simple and didn't have all the fluff,"
Ms. Cunningham said in an interview
with The New York Times in
2001.
"Poetry set to music has to be mulled
over. I think the more sharply and
simply it's written, the better."
Mr. Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"
was published on the cover of the
sixth issue, in May 1962, shortly after
rhe song was written. Malvina Reynolds, whose songs often appeared in
Broadside, had "Little Boxes" in is-
Cunningham, on accordion, with the Aimanac Singers in1942, including Woody Guthrie, far left, an<
Pete Seeger, on banjo. She and her husband, Gordon Friesen, founded Broadside magazine in 1962.
&""9
Publishingsong's uirt
strong leftist potrfrcs
and s direct style.
Ms. Cunningham had played with
Mr. Seeger and Mr. Guthrie in the Almanac Singers during the 1940's. At
Broadside,
chords and lyrics to songs from tape
recordings made by musicians. Mr.
Friesen,
sue No. 20; "I Ain't Marching Anymore" by Mr. Ochs, another frequent
contributor, was in issue No. 54.
The couple churned out the early
issues using a mimeograph machine
once owned by the American Labor
Party. Because it was illegal to run a
business
in their housing
project,
they smuggled copies out the door in
a baby carriage.
As a singer and an accordionist,
she tremscribed the
a novelist and
journalist,
wrote the commentaries.
Songs from the magazine were collected in 2000 on a five-CD boxed set,
"The Best of Broadside,
1962-1988,"
on the Smithsonian Folkways label.
The album was nominated for two
Grammy Awards, for best historical
album and best liner notes.
Born to a poor farming family in
Watonga, Okla., Ms. Cunningham
graduated from what was then
called Southwestern State College in
Weatherford, Okla., and married Mr
Friesen, another Oklahoman, in lg4l
They came to New York late tha
year and moved into the communa
Almanac House in Greenwich Vil
lage with Mr. Seeger, Mr. Guthrir
and others. Ms. Cunningham joine<
the Almanac Singers and performe<
on their 1942 album, "Dear Mr. Pres
ident."
With Mr. Friesen, who died in lgg6
she wrote "Red Dust and Broad
sides: A Joint Autobiography,'
which was published in 1999.
Besides Ms. Friesen, of New Paltz
Ms. Cunningham is survived by an
other daughter, Agnes Friesen, o:
Berkeley, Calif.; three grandchil
dren ; and one great-grandson.
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
NEW YORK TOWN
Woody's song about being alone in New York without any money.
I was standing down in New York town
one day,
Standing down in New York town one day,
I v'as standing down in New York town one da-v,
Singing, "Hey,ltey, hey, hey!"
n
Irl
I v'as broke, I dicln't have ct dime,
I v'as broke, I didn't have a dime,
Yes. sir. I was broke I didn't have
0n
p
t'l
a dime,
,7F
Sirtging, "He\,, het, hey, hey!"
p
A
o
o
u
i!
GREf ER NER'YORK
t932&@XMrO
\
.
Series 1935 Port of New York Authority toll scrip
for the bridges and tunnels connectin-s New York
City rvith New Jersey. Woody certainly used these
bridges and tunnels to enter and leave New York.
sratr[Pr,
qou
OUT ilTAliiT-)
^3i
\ Q)r
\troll
GREATER NEW
".,if::ffilJ',}"
1932 gL@X
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GREATER NE\{YORK
r93? BLOC6
GREATER
d6NrUnOXrO
1932 BIoCX
NEWrcRK
OtcdrltuNlO
.sran[p.
(.oUT WANT.Y
r sranflP rl
i OUT \VANI].-
\,@d
>LEl
5rc'IEI
GREATER"T*"no
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1932 qOCX
ffiNtAU
v--u-J
AREAT
1932
B!
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re
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CREATJ
tO
193;81(
sratrf,P.
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Ir wi
-,
i
i.
m*icrrimqd'*u*"0"*ru
i
ll
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,
.i'.:,.
.,
-
-i\\
-
Fund raising stamps from the Greater
\erv York Emergency Unemployment
Reiief Committee, a Depression era
private relief organization.
n
-
E
r=-
Stamp pictures New York City skyline.
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
MY NAME IS NEW YORK
New York City tells its story through Woody.
My name is New York,l've been struck by the winds,
Froze up and blistered, then sffuck down again,
Been struck by my richfolks, been struck by *-'" bums,
Been struck by my m.ensions, been struck b! m! slums.
MYNAME
NEWY
l:..
. r*i
*
:a::
I
t
Fiorello l-aGuardia was
Mayor of New York City
when Woody anived.
BHl{'AR0Ul{D W00DY GU
;bas
-:
eoll
Meter imprinted New York
City cigarette tax stamp.
Revenue used for relief
programs.
Cover of book which took
its name from this song.
Photo shows Woody
outside Bryant Park.
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
TIN HORN TAXI
Woody's song about the adventures and misadventures of a taxicab driver.
The hustle and bustle of New York inspired several good songs.
I've held nn' cabbl' license now for 27 t,ectrs,
I'r'e seen nn'share of blood and guts,l't'e swurn a tub of tears,
There'.\ nor o poor cop lit'ing that's seenu:hat I've come throu7h.
Splashing dov'rt alottg the curb of ktst At,enue.
LiEEMSE_
V0ID-IN LES'DN
NEW YORK CITY
iV r N WtA R:S FYFG L ASSES
TAXI and LIMOUSINE COMMISSION
TAXICAB DRIVER'S LICENSE
EXPIRES MAY 31, 1974
STTPI+f
L.
FJ
SUTF'il
?I ss??
APR 1
YOU MUST RENEW THIS LICENSE BETWEEN
5
1g
tg74
1974
^ffiR
NEW YOFIK CITY
TAXI and LIMOUSINE COMMISSION
_ NEW YORK 1OOO5 N.Y.
MICHAEL J. LAZAR, Ctrairman
87 BEAVER ST.
'g)$ilp171
Special tax
stamp issued to
a
taricab o\\'ner.
@@
Stamp pictures taxicab in New
York City's Tirnes Square.
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
TALKING SUBWAY BLUES
Woody tells of his first encounter with a subway.
I blowed into New York town,
I looked up an"d I looked down,
Everybody I seen on the streets,
Was all a-running down in a hole in the ground,
I followed 'em, see where they're a-going.
Subway Series Station
October 21,2AA0
Bronx, NY 10451
Nev,sboy said they're trying to smoke o rat out of a hole.
ry
I InndurEC S
%';frfi-u-""
The London Underground was
the world's first electric
powered subway system.
Nerv York Ciw subway token,
1953 issue. pictured 0n stamp.
1948 New York City subway map.
Published in M-v Name Is New York
by Nora Guthrie and the Woody
Guthrie Archives.
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
HOWDY FRIEND
Theme song of the 1940 radio prograrr, Pipe Smoking Time, sponsored by Model Tobacco and broadcast over
the CBS network from New York. Woody sang the song to the accompaniment of Ray Bloch's orchestra. The
tune was the same one Woody used for So Long, It's Been Good to Know You.
well it's sure good to know you,
Howdyfriend, well it's sure good to lcrww you,
Load up your pipe and take your life easy,
With Model Tobacco to light up your way,
We're glad to be withyou today.
Howdy friend,
MODEL TOBACCO
Ir{gpHr
lhe Quolity Smoke
al o Thrifty Price
ad in meter stamp.
rB-o!r!.!)"$ r.'tlt(iFsll
fu
:
-^4F1F F.Tdi'**+
rli,j j t( *",,.,
v,.;$,
", ttll{,
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nfr.'rit1.{r!!(
t'r1(}ttt\
.t!i
Mr. Jos. B. hliJ-ls
Djrector of i\rblieity
fhe J. t. Hudson Co.
Detroit, i{ich.
RADIO I\IETWORK ad in
meter starnp, 1940. Woody quit
the show after only a few weeks.
CB,S
U.S. tax paid tobacco stamp.
2.2 NEW YORK CITY
THE BALLAD OF WILD BILL
-'.-,...
HICKOK
In 1940, DuPont commissioned Woody to
write a ballad about the famous lawman,
and to perform it on their Cavalcade of
America radio program broadcast on the
NBC network out of New York.
Well, I'll sing you a song,
Of the days that are gone,
Whenyour rambling was rough,
And your law was your gun,
When your life was a gamble,
Make it ace, deuce, or trey,
And the men of the past,
Made the men of today.
-u$.
DuPont cover with
CAVALCADE OF
AMERICA
ad in
n,$d'
meter stamp.
*
^
b$t
Last day of
299,letter rate.
December 31,1994.
Pc
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."j
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-89oklyn,
Ny IL27L
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st
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ile4
WOODY GL]-IHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
2.2 NEW YORK CMY
JOE DIMAGGIO DONE IT AGNN
Woody wrote the lyrics of this song in honor of the great
New York Yankees oufielder. British rock musician Billy
Bragg added music many years after Woody's death.
DiMagggio's 56-game hitting streak in the 1941 season
still stands as a Major League Baseball record.
Joe DiMaggio's done it again,
Joe DiMaggio's done it again,
Clicking that bat, gone with the wind,
Joe DiMaggio's done it again!
Some folks thought Big Joe was done,
Some just figured Joe was gone,
Steps up to the
platter with a great big grin,
Joe DiMaggio's done it again!
AJ0R
ttAoffi Ba$8[A[ AtbsaR
JOE DIMAGGIO
ffi,M,ffiffi
M-Mffi-ffi-
MMM-ffi-
Mffiffiffi
MMffiffi
2.3 ROAMING AND RAMBLING
HARD TRAVELING
Woody's song of the itinerant worker. Woody did quite a lot of hard traveling himself, often hoboing from town
to town by boxcar, by thumb, or by foot. Woody once told an audience, "I mean trains has run throughout my
life. For some reason it's just recently that I commenced to using tickets."
I've been having some hard traveling, I thought you knowed,
I've been having some hard traveling, way 6lo*, the road,
I've been having some hard taveling,
Hard rambling, hard gambling,
I've been having some h.ard traveling, Inrd.
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Post card with hobo message and
Railway Post Office postmark.
Reduced size color photocopy of reverse.
la F1=_^;
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
Woody Guthrie sang many songs of wandering, but this is far and
away his most famous. He wrote it in 1940 as a response to Irving
Berlin's God Bless America, which had been popularized by Kate
Smith. Woody's original refrain was "God blessed America for
me,'o which he soon changed to "This land was made for you and
me." Since then literally scores of artists have recorded it, although
most have omitted Woody's more ironic verses.
Right
o
200t
usPs
Plate number block of 37( Irving Berlin stamp.
Cachet shows reproduction of part of Woody's original
manuscript. Postmark shows the beginning of the song.
V+ t*;
ffi ffi
ffi ffi
/.tV*:>;
futu@*
This land is your land, this land is my land,
From Califurnia, to the New York island,
From the redwoodforests, to the Gulf Stream waters,
This landwas made for you and me.
tra
kfa e azg axz az;;tt &- C za dZ"/Z-,"
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4ter&tn !o trooo! Gunrr;
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"This Lond ls Your Lond."
I've roarned and rambled, and I followed my footsteps,
To the sparHing sands of her diamond deserts,
And all around me, e voice was sounding,
"This land was rnade for you and me."
One bright sunny morning, in the shadow of the steeple,
By the relief ffice,I saw my people.
As they stood hungry,I stood there wondering if,
This land was made for you an"d me.
Right
Plate number block o1{49, Kate Smith stamp.
mm
mm
from a paperback
song book published
in 1963.
Page
33
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
Words and Music by
WOODY GUTHRIE
Moderately bright
This lanil
is !rcur land,-lhis
land
is
my
lanil-
from Cal-i -
E
c
for -
nia- to the Ney YorX
is
- land.-hon
Oe red-wood for-est
to the Ghrlf Strea,n wa-ters,
l. As
2. I've
I
-
This land was made foryou and me.
irg- tbat
was
-
e Fine
G
-
Scan with smart
phone to hear Woody
sing this song.
rib-bon
roamed
8.Whel the sun come{
of
Another
postmark
showing the
beginning of
This lnnd Is
Your l-and.
-
LigX - f,/aY
my fool - steDs-
PAIT{PA, TF-XAS
STAfiON
IruBUTE TO WOODY GUTERIE
:
_I
saw a-l
to ttre spalinrl
- the uLeasnelrtl
-and
1
c
'1h& LfridisYaurland'
tm.+ f998 Pr'tIPA,lEXAl tgttfil
lm'me-ttralgoldroundne- a voice
lift-itg-
a voice
l
;
@ Copyright 1956
ud
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GOING DOWN THE ROAD
An adaptation of the blues song, I Ain't Gonna Be TreatedThis aWay_,
u. .ung Uy W69OV Guthrie and Lee Hays, one of Woody's fellow Almanac Singers.
I'm blowing down this old dustY road,
Yes,I'm blowing down this oA dusty road,
I'm blowing down this old dusty road,I'ard, God!
And I ain't gonna be treated this away-
Perhaps the old
dusty road led to
ROADS END.
CALIF.
fM
PAMPA'S TRIBUTE TO WOODY GUTHRIE
.I
3O5 HAMILTON ST.
PAMPA' TX 79065
PAMPA, TEXAS STATKTN
TRIEUTE To WoooY GUTH
ocT. 7, 1995 PAMPA,TX79065
Highway 60 across the Texas
Panhandle has been designated the
Woody Guthrie Memorial HighwaY
Woody Guthie ttaaeled the highways of our country' meeting
the pelopb along the uay, and utriting songs about them'
Could Woody have imagined that one day a stretch of highway would be named after him?
7
HEAD RISE
While Woody wrote many songs about dust storms, he also wrote several songs about,
natural disasters of another kind he encountered in his travels: floods. This is one example.
A head rise, a head rise,
Got a head rise on the Big Muddy,
Washing all my poor souls clean.
Got a head rise!
J4
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Reduced size color photocopy of reverse.
Misspelled auxiliary marking: second A missing. DAMGED BY FLOOD WATER of the Missouri River
somewhere west of Saint Louis while en route from Dallas to Indianapolis. Resealed with Post Office
Department official seal on reverse. The Missouri River is often called the Big Muddy.
Head rise, head rise,
Head rise 'long my big river,
Last chance to kiss my brothers and sisters.
Got a head rise!
WILLY ROGERS HIGT{WAY
The naming of part of U.S. Route 66 afterWill Rogers gave
Woody an opportunity to express his mixed feelings. Yqo$V
admir6d hisTellow Oklahomanos sense of humor, but felt he
had sold out to Hollywood. Nevertheless, Woody and his
first wife named one of their children after Will Rogers.
This big highway goes from coast unto coast,
From New Yorker town down to Lost Angeles;
It's namedfor Willy Rogers that went on this road,
From New Yorker town down to l-ost Angeles.
My 66 highway, this Willy Rogers road,
It's lined with jalopies just as far as I can see.
Can you think up a joke , Will, for all of these follcs
From New Yorker town down to Inst Angeles?
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
approval photograph for 39 Will
Rogers stamp signed by designer
Chas. R. Chickering.
Ex-Sol Glass collection.
,
HII ffiffiRS:
.Golden-cowned Kinglets P€inting
by Murrell Butler
stnrcrfurf.€egl**
Topromffi-nTe1#
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ot
^lJuildli+e.
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.
,
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C*:* 7]":!L*LAUNCHING
"/kI
OFFICIAL COVER
WOODY GLI-IHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEw YORK ISLAND
I AIN'T GOT NO HOME
Woody's rewrite of the Carter Family song, / Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore. The original song
was about other worldliness. Woody's version was about a very down to Earth problem: homelessness.
I ain't got no home, I'rn just a-roaming'round,
I'm just a wandering worker, I go from town to town.
The police make it hard wherever I may go,
And I ain't got no home in this world onymore.
I
r
I
I
II
farming on the shares and always I was poor,
Ivty crops I laid into the banker's door,
And my wift took down and died upon the cabinfl,oor,
And I ain't got no home in this world anymore.
was
4
,..
The Carter Family unknowingly provided
Woody the inspiration - and the tune!
.//14.. a/4
tu
t/
at,
/
/1.
,/Frhz/o.
.//
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I
a c,
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'l
y',a?r
a/ t
Federal revenue stamp on a sharecropper's lease.
farming on the shares and alwtys I was poor...
was
,l/'az
Lz
/A-
4
I DON'T FEEL AT HOME ON THE BOWERY NO MORE
Woody's parody of his own song, I Ain't Got No Home . After a stint as a house guest in a luxury apartrnent,
Woody finds it hard to return to New York City's skid row. In real life, Woody had little problem making the
transition back and forth, with the luxury apartment belonging to Woody's friend, actor Will Geer.
I seen an apartment on Fifth Avenue,
A penthouse and garden with a slqtscraper view,
The carpets so soft with a hardwood floor,
I don't feel at home on the Bowery no more.
So
Above: Check from the Bowery
National Bank of New York
printed on revenue stamped
paper. Bank was located on the
Bowery atCanal Street.
Right Maximum card picturing
the Bowery. Stamp: New York
City Golden Anniversary air
mail commemorative. Cancellation: COOPER STA. post
office served the northern portion of the Bowery.
I got disgusted and I wrote this song,
I may be right and I may be wrong,
But since I seen the difference 'tween rich and the poor,
I don't feel at honxe on the Bowery no more.
HERE, RATTLER! (or HEY, RATTLER! )
Woody took a convict song about a vicious chain gang guard dog
it into a ditty about a friendly old hunting companion.
and transformed
Now Rattler was afine old dog,
fine as he could be,
He trapped a possum in a hollow log,
And never let him be.
WeIl, here, Rattler, here, here!
Here, Rattler, here!
Come on, Rattler,from the barn!
Here, Rattler, here!
As
989 letter rate for 4 ounces.
Irish dog license revenue stamps.
U.S. hunting permit stamp used on license.
TALKII,{G F ISHING BLU ES
A fisherman's tale, Woody Guthrie style.
I went down to the fishing hole,
And I sat downwith myfishtng pole,
Sometlzing grabbed my hook and it got mv- bait,
And jerked lne out in the middle of the lake.
Htth, it was some jump, bo,v!
I got sunk, kind of baptized on credit.
AIN{
Ciiiit[i.r ,'...
t, il;r,
!o.1_eport hunting ond fishing violcrors coll roll fre, t.(g0o) 952-5400. Volid qs o
Colilornio spori fishing license when current sport fishing iicense stomp is offixed ond
license's rcme, oddress, description ond signolure oppeor below.
MUST
8E IN
fiLj;;r -:i'ji-'
LICENSEE'S IMMEDIATE POSSESSION
entral Jersey 0i1
.0.3ox 300
a,kbl'lood
N.J.
U.S.A.
cl
OF,
YEAR
., J -;
,4<1
,o,&r-^J- -wt
you
BIRTH
asr
:'st^
1
Co.
OB?O1
Hove
resided in Colifornio
post six months? 'f] Ver
Are yo! on aclive
TO iISH FROM OR ON
TO
FiS
rHIS
A
STA
iE
\UST
PERAlJ
AND
FTOATING DEVICE OI.I
THE WATERS OF THE
COLORADO RIVER
Wai
G'
r'.
TO
i
AND ON
(..,
OR
SAtM
AND
CD
rrr ILAND
O\' TAKE
SAI-A
SAI'
" 'F
s4.oo D*crtu31'
"F
ErDlru
1083
I
l\5
rF
ADJACENT
RrVER FORMS
A
EOIJNDARY
BETWEEN lHE SIATFS
MUTUAL
OF
FIX
STAA
CTHER
WATERS WHERE THAT
f
l$t
BOAT OR
ARIZONA AND
CATIFORNIA
YOU
MUSI FIRMiY
AFFIX
HERE A VAIID
ARIZONA COLORADO
RIVER SPECIAL USE
STAMP.
nûr stntpfl) Brss sTlp 0ll Btcl( 0r uc$lst.
A.usrRALrA 55"S
AUSTRATIA
California fi shing license
with state revenue starnps affixed.
Early one morning I took me a notion,
To go out fishing in the nniddle of the oceen.
Well, I throwed me a line, I got me sltark,
I didn't get him home 'tilway past dark.
He was a man-eater, a tough customer,
But he wesn't quite touglz enough.
@
z.4POLITICAL VIEWS
In Los Angeles and New York, Woody's politics took a sharp turn to the left. He began writing and singing
more explicitly political songs, by himself or as part of a group called the Almanac Singers. Like many others
involved in the arts and entertainment in the 1930s and 194Os, Woody became a sympathizer of the Communist
Party, U.S.A. (known 1944-1945 as the Communist Political Association).
VOL.
XX[I,
No. 9
There is no evidence that Woody
himself was ever a member of the
Communist Party. When asked if
he were a Communist, Woody
would often joke, " I ain't a
Communist necessarily, but I
been in the red all my life."
SEPTEMBER, 1944
THE COMMUNIST
A
MARXIST MAOAZINE DEVOTED TO ADVANCEMENT OF DEMOCRATIC TIIOUCNT AND ACTION
Ernr. BnowoBn,
f,ditor
Eucnnr Drrrrs, Associstc Editor
V. J. Jrnour" Managing Editor
C ON
Labor Day in
Some Features
TENT
S
An Ed,itofial
1944
of Modern Warfare
77L
Maj. Gen. M.
Galak-
tionqs
The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Founding of the American Communist Organi-
zation
What Marxism Contributes to America
Resol:ution
tional
773
of the
No-
Conuention,
c.P.A.'
778
EarL Broud,er
782
Above: Design error. Soviet
The Heritage of the Communist political
Association
Robert Minor
A Lesson in Democracy
A 'Resolute Non - Partisan policy
Strengthen National Unity
Notes on the Democratic Convention
813
leader William Z. Foster's year
of death as 19&. Foster died in
1961. Stamps with this mistaken
date were soon withdrawn and
replaced with a corrected version.
819
See next page.
A. Lanilg
?98
Eugene Dennis
806
to
The Negro and the Elections
Louis F. Bud,enz
Dox.eg A, Wilkerson
China's Real Destiny
Fre(knck V. Field,
830
Hans Berger
846
A Company Union of
Nations?
stamp shows Communist Party
788
.
.
Resolutions Adopted by the National Convention, C.P.A.
857
Historic Documents
862
Entercil as seconil, closs motter Nooember Z, lg|7, st thte post Ofice &
Neu York, N. Y., uniler the Act of Morch g, 1879. THE COMMUMST is
Wg1kers-
Librory publhhas, Inc., ot gJ2 Broadroortt,
Wbl*:heil,-Mottthly__by
Nry
Yoflc 3, IV. Y. (mail aildress, p.- O. Bot t46, Sttitwn D), to wlr#i
nrbscripfions, Nwrynts oN arreipond,enae slwu,l8 be serlt. SirUccriptiot
tote: $2.00 o yeot; 91.00 for sia moiths; forctgn onil Conado,
Single copdes 20 cenl&,.
Ptn{fBDtNtEtu.l^.
gZ.SA
o
golcr .
Cbllt
. . ::
'.:
.11,1t'
Left: Title page from The
Communisl, a monthly magazine
allied with the Communist
Political Association. The 2nd
class mailing declaration at
bottom was required to secure
favorable mailing rates for a
regularly published periodical.
z,4POLITICAL VIEWS
Some of Woody's contemporaries who were actively involved with the American left included author Richard
Wright, Communist Party U.S.A. official William Z. Foster. and convicted spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
First day of
letter rate
for 2 ounces.
\Iay I I.2OA9.
61 c
*s
i
' t-"'r t ,*{r' i
-
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-'r_.:_!s..6',:-&s:i.!
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XXV ATTIVERSARIO
DEL ASESII{ATO
DE LOS ESPOSOS
ROSEITIBEBC
First dal cover
u'ith official
cachet.
@..^...^
z.4POLITICAL VIEWS
MISTERTOM MOONEY
One of Woody's first explicitly political songs, composed in 1939. Tom Mooney and Warren Billings were
imprisoned for setting a bomb th;t killed 10 people in San Francisco in 1916. Many people on the left claimed
that the two men, particularly Mooney, had been framed. California's newly elected Governor Culbert Olson
ordered both men released from prison shortly after taking office.
Mr.Tom Mooney
Mr. Tom Moonelt
free!
free!
Jttst got his pardon from that old jail house world,
is
is
Got;ernor Culbert Olson's decree.
o
-1U".r",/7
MOOilEY
Ffr EEff
OATES OT SAT OUETTIil
9NrD.C'
JAN
?
5-Pu
R
zs3s>
OPEilED Oil JAtriIAilY 7,
I 939
,..!
o
G0vERlt0R
orsoil
GRAI|TS
t.-,
PARDON AFTER 20 YEARS
IMPRISOflM ENT GROWING
OUT OF PREPAREDI{ESS DAY
Bfi:I'E?iiI; IiJ :],1I!
FRJ{iiClSCs t;l-'i ZZ, 7*,i.
PARADE
.
-"!
Top: Censored prisoner's cover from the state penitentiary at San Quentin, California,.
where Mooney had been imprisoned. Censor marking just left of envelope stamp.
Bottom: Postmarked from San Quentin on day of Tom Mooney's release.
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YOR.K ISLAND
2.4 POLITICAL VIEWS
I'M LOOKING FOR THAT NEW DEAL NOW
Another of Woody's earliest explicitly political songs, this one showing his disappointment that FDR's New
Deal did not go far enough. Said Woody: "You was promised a New Deal and you
a Nude Deal."
-sot
All this world is a poker game,
The way it's played is a dad-gum shame,
I'rn looking for that New Deal now.
All the bankers, I believe,
Got a good hand up their sleeve,
I'm looking for that New Deal now.
I\-hett the cards was dealt around,
Il-all Srreet drawed the aces down,
I'nt looking for that New Deal now.
TJrcn they dealt around the cards,
The big shots up and cleaned the board,
r,lyl,
-' i.l
\;'
I'nr looking for that New Deal now.
Thet raised the pot with the N.R.A.,
For honest hours and honest pay,
I'm looking for that New Deal now.
But a turke\ dealer up New York town,
Won the Blue Eagle with his hole card down,
I'nt looking for that New Deal now.
U.S. playing cards revenue stamps.
MEMBER
.t
'*
L
WE DO OUR
PART
'*t
Last verse refers to the National Recovery Administration,
declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1935 decision involving a poultry company.
The Blue Eagle was the N.R.A. emblem, shown on large poster stamp at left and in meter stamp at right.
ISLAND
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFOR.NIA TO THE NEW YORK
2.4 POLITICAL VIEVTS
WHY DO YOU STAND THERE IN THE RNN?
D. Roosevelt addressed 6'000 young
woody,s version of what happened in 1940, when President Franklin Youth Congress' The crowd often
people attending a rally for-peace *iioUt'f"O L*'-ttt" feftitt American
a
booe.i him repeatedly as they stood outside the white House in
perceived FDR,s.",,'-t, u, hostile,
drenching rainstorm.
""aih;t
It was ratning mighn hard onthe old Cgit-2\1'ard,
And the vouig folks'gathered at the White House ^gate' . .
The Presiden\ ra*ed his head, an'd to the ,-oung folks said,
"Tell me wht' do vrtu stand there in the rain? "
6c wartime air
mail rate to or
from U.S. forces abroad.
v
l/
-
-*"-----
IR MAIL
3 z e J^tjq
frl
Kov*cs tl$1**ri;u.,:;..{,i',,9""
Les
Tallles
c0irTA I LL0D
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/tt .r: . /
vvlluL
agreed to address the rally at the request of his wife, Eleanor, who had earlier received
,o*" of the American Youttr-Congress leaders at the White House.
"
t
,l
z.4POLITICAL VIEWS
LINDBERGH
Song critical of the great aviator's isolationist and pro-Axis sentiments prior to U.S. entry into World War
Written by Woody Guthrie with some help from the other Almanac Singers.
Mr. Charley Lindbergh, he flew to old Berlin,
Got him a big lron Cross, thenflew right back again,
To Washington, to Washington.
ry
MAY
- 2I
I
I
I
--
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Via Ah Mail
I
t977
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LD
IfuiA.i:i!'iEN Cfl i.LgCTiBLES
1'l iiix 7339, ii. . .r-,1's0k $tation
-,ij!;iARCK, ND 58507
t-
,rNo4n.
IUC l5 Y(1\
IPM
rg2?
t
Cover with 10c
Lindbergh air
mail stamp
flown in course
of Lindbergh's
1927 U.S.
Goodwill Tour.
VIA
AIR MAIL
Enveloper of thir
derign approved by
P. O. D for exclu.
ia Air Mail
cive ure
.,!oer F. Doraef Jr.,
SSL
Fcgt l?5tb $treet,
- f,cr lort €lty.
II.
2.4POLTTICAL VIEWS
SLIPKNOT (or HANGKNOT)
Song expressing Woody's disdain for lynching and also for capital punishment,
which he considered little more than legalized lynching.
Did vou ever see a hangman tie a slipknot?
Did vou ever see a hangman tie a slipknot?
Yes, I've seen it many a time,
And he winds and he winds,
After l3 times he's got a slipknot.
Fund raising label pictures the Manchester Martyrs,
three Irish nationalists hanged by the British.
Stamps picture Nathan Hale,
an American patriot hanged
by the British for espionage.
Used from American Samoa.
Prof. Ingo S. D. Hackb.
7 t'Zt;ee st..
Sen
Francisco, Cali,f .
I
.t
,-i,
*V
3-penny stamp pictures
Robert Emmet. an
Irish patriot hanged by
the British for leading
a rebellion.
u",''t4i*'
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z.4POLITICAL VIEWS
YOU SOULS OF BOSTON
One of 11 songs Woody composed about
the Sacco and Vanzetti case. The subjects,
both Italian immigrant political radicals,
were executed in Boston in 1927 for a
double murder committed during a payroll
robbery seven years earlier. Many people
considered their trial to be a miscarriage
of justice, and their case because a cause
cdldbre for the political left.
. J__7__.__'
\
You souls of Boston bow your hea.ds,
Our wo most noble sons are dead,
Sacco and Vanzetti both have died,
And drifted out with the Boston tide.
U.S. Chief Justice William Howard Taft rejected
a last minute appeal to stop the executions.
Woodcut published in Sing
Out! magazine, May-June
1977. Same woodcut was
used in part for jacket of
album of Woody Guthrie's
Sacco anC Vanzetti songs.
.'\
\ti
,''\-
\ir
I
tli
Bartolorneo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco
Woodcut by Anlonio Frasconi
Fo
BOSTON CIRCUIT RJ.O.
streetcar postmark. sacco and
Vanzetti were arrested while
riding a Boston streetcar.
\\
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)a
N
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r address oniy
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CAI-IFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
2.4 POLITICAL VIEWS
Woody generally disdained politicians, but twice in his life became active in national political campaigns: in
1944 when he participated in the Franklin D. Roosevelt reelection campaign, and in 1948 when he was
marginally active in Henry A. Wallace's Progressive Party campaign.
NAME AI{D RETURN
OFFICIAL ABSENTEE
ADDRESS OF SENDER
Alh,ert E. .:!reen"e
.. ?9 liilss. L1.,-r-11. F"qa-4 .
"or.ot-
l-t_
.
iU- Ai{
"....-1{.p..rv....1-q.+.*..?.tr.....-c-9tF-.:.........................
1944
'.++t
Town
City
Borough
{fl i,Qrynclr
Town
City
Borough
State
of
' ..*."--J
gof 2L
Connecticut
'
lqqL4
4 ai-o-*Clh-*
, 1a0'a
G'cfnXlyy"az,y
POULTRf'
fl ,\ \1
:. I (:T
J t
L,.a
SHO\V
c4 3va BILLTON
DOLLAR INDUSTRYc/A
/
,grf"^-f RU> eQ-$
u-
Upper right: Absentee ballot cover from 1944 election.
Directly above: IIENRY A. WALLACE
autograph on 1948 first day cover.
BIENVENIDO - WALLACE overprint
welcoming U.S. Vice President to Ecuador,1943.
Stamp at right:
WOODY GLIHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISL-AND
2.4rcLTIICAL VIEWS
DEAR MRS. ROOSEVELT
A tribute to the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt and consolation for his widow, (Anna) Eleanor Roosevelt.
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt, don't hang your head to cry,
His mortql clay is la,id away, but his goodworkfills the slE.
This worUwas lucky to see him bori.
Presidential
widow's free
franking.
Vt
1la Park, Illlnols
(ou 5-:
tAPR i2
v
IOd Pil
ts45
i
--*1
SCOTT NIXON
S.F.C. Building
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
tt0u*
'f""-" A""
Ur,"o'J ltioo.l Srr"."r,J"""
Postmarked
on the day of
FtiR's death.
1.59 3rd class
rate.
WOODY GL-IHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISL-AND
2. POLrIICAL VIEWS
HENRY WALLACE MAN
Composed in support of the Progressive Party's 1948 presidential candidate.
I like rhe way your face lights up,
I like vour cornfield smile,
Franklin D. had that same light,
There sparkling in his eyes.
I don't like Hoover's lemony puss,
Nor Truman's bitter bark smile.
I'm betting w vote on the cornfield grin,
Of this Henry Wallace man.
\\€:_:;
,---
.
USA2Oc
Harry Truman replaced Wallace as FDR's running mate in l944.Truman fired Wallace
as Secretary of Commerce in 1946, and defeated Wallace in the election of 1948.
Anti-Wallace
cacheted cover
from 1918
election.
How
Evergthing!
Hank Wallace clains he
stopped the 'told lTar" !
DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE
194.o
I{lss G. Tllford
tJox I5b
Ho1t, l,flchlgan
FRANKTII{ D. ROOSEVETT
FOR PRESIDENT
Wallace had
been elected
Vice President
FDR's running mate in
194O. Election
Day postmark
on campalgn
as
cover.
2.4POLITICAL VIEWS
Among the best known left wing artists and entertainers in Woody Guthrie's time was actor and sing-er -Paul
Robes6n. Woody was in the audience when Robeson gave a controversial outdoor concert in Peekskill, New
York, in 1949. After the concert ended, Woody rode in one of the buses of concert goers that was attacked by
anti-Robeson protesters while police stood by and did little to stop the violence. The Woody Guthrie Archives
contain at leasl l l songs Woody wrote about the incident, but only one was ever published or recorded.
U.S. Postal Service
packing card for 100
panes of 379 Paul
Robeson stamps.
q:t*".ffi
wrc
UPPER RIGHT
s1111
^"e" ôc.l]1dl5s'J
".""r*;$"*xt:i".[!_]r^tss-,,,'
;"*$*-w
W,',
2,000
Positively not to be placed on sale until the
day announced in the Postal Bulletin
IIIIET
IMET
3t
Produced by: Sennett Security Products
Plate number block of 379 Paul Robeson stamp.
Item # 455400
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEw YORK ISLAND
z.4POLITICAL VIEWS
Stamped envelope with
privately produced Paul
Robeson label.
MY 30,000
Woody Guthrie's account of the 1949 Paul
Robeson concert in Peekskill, New York,
later set to music by British singer Billy
Bragg. Anti-Robeson mobs attacked buses
of concert goers on their way home, while
police did little to stop the violence.
Paul Robeson, he's the man,
That faced the Ku Klux Klan,
On Hollow Grove's golfing ground,
His words come sounding,
And all around him there,
To jump and clap and cheer,
I sent the best, the best I ha.d,
My 30,000.
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Is this a Ku
Klux Kover?
fuuyao.4^!"t'
v 4t*r^ l Aa"^f
A^4(ry-,^*'
lmg
w
"ts^".S
s
Seasfi,
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Cdil, tugusl
ll-ll-lgll
Well, the Klansman leader said,
That Paul would lose his hea.d,
When 35,000 vets,
Broke up thnt concert,
But less than 4,000 came,
To side vvith the Klan,
But around Paul's lonesome oak,
My 30,000.
In spite of Woody's lyrics, most of the
anti-Robeson rioters were not actually
affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.
WOODY GLIHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
2.5 LINION TROUBADOUR
Woody wrote and sang dozens of songs in support of organized labor, particularly the unions of the Congress of
Industrial Organizations, which presented itself as a militant alternative to the more conservative American
Federation of [.abor.
HIGHLA.NDER FOLK SCHOOL
,
MONTEAGLE, TENNEggEE
@,
A. ad, &q. Earsld f. g€Lllrt
3? f tlk€e flmd,
Irrta Er*br{lr €f,r blea&uerttr
Top: Woody became especially interested in union songs after a 19{O visit to Highlander Folk School with
fellow folk singer Pete Seeger. Highlander Folk School, a training center for labor organizers,
promoted the use of music as an organizing tool. Note union label in re.turn address corner c.ard.
Bottom: United Mine Workers of Ameica l94g-1?{1 membership card with dues stamps affixed.
The U.M.W.A. was one of the founding unions of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
2.5 UNION TROUBADOUR
YOU GOT TO GO DOWN AND JOIN THE UNION
Woody- was very adept at taking Gospel songs and turning them into union songs. In this case he used
the tradiiional-Gospel hymn You've Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley as the template.
You got to go down and join the union,
You got to join it by yourself.
Nobody here can join it for you,
You got to go down an"d join the union by yourself.
Covers below delayed on account of American dock workers strike (top)
and returned because of Canadian postal workers strike (bottom).
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WOODY GUIHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE ivEw YORK ISTAND
25 UNION TROUBADOUR
UNION MAID
THE UNION MAID
According to Woody, "This song was made
up in honor of Mrs. Merriweather [Annie Mae
Merriweather, an organizer for the Southern
Tenant Farmers Union in Oklahomal. She's a
woman that was stripped naked and beat up,
and then hung to the rafters of the house till
she was unconscious." The song, written by
Woody with some help from his fellow
Almanac singers, quickly became a tribute to
all the women of the labor movement.
l:
There once was a union maid,
r
She never was
afraid,
Of goons an"d ginks and company finks,
And the deputy sherffi who made the raid.
She went to the union hall,
When a meeting it was called,
And when the Legion boys came 'round,
She always stood her ground.
Words by Woody Guthrie and the Almanacs
Tunet
h
There once was a union maid, she never was a{raid
O{ goons and ginls and company links
And the depufy sherifis who made fhe raid.
She wenl lo lhe union hall when a meliing ii was called
And when lhe Legion boys came 'round
She always slood her ground,
e
Chorus:
I
Oh you can'i scare me, I'm slicking lo lhe union,
l'm siicking to lhe union, l'm sficting to the union.
lv
Oh you can't scare me, l'm slicking lo the union,
. l'm sticking lo ffe union'til fhe day I die.
l:(
This-union maid was wise lo fhe lricls of i:ompany spies,
She couldn'f be fooled by a company slool,
She'd always organize fhe guys.
l.-
She'd always get her way when she slruck for belter pav,
She'd show her card lo the Nalional Guard
And this is what she'd say.
{
m
l
Oh,you cen't scere me,
I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union.
Oh, you can't scere me,
'Til the day I die.
Reduing
You gals who wanl lo be {ree, fust lake a
Gel you a man who's a union man
And ioin lhe ladies' auriliary.
lip from
me,
Married life ain'f'hard when you've gol a union card,
A union man has a happy life
When he's got a union wife.
I
t
[Chorus]
of Union Maid cut from the jacket of Talking
Union, the Almanac Singers' record album in which the
song was first released in l!Xl. In later versions, the
word "kgion" was changed to "company."
Lyrics
Th SAII|IUEI m]YlP[RS $bnp
AH.,qo Tuentleh Comtlfttloml Cronvention
San Franciscc, . Octcrber 4 - 7, a99!'
o.l&.r
oub
WOODY GI.IIHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
Woody Guthrie borrowed the tune for Union Maid from a popular 1907 song called Re.d.Wing,.
by Thurlind Chattaway and Kerry Mills: There once lived anlndian maid, a sh.,- linle prairie maid.'.
Was there any
connection between
the Indian maid and
the Minnesota town
that shared her
name?
Return to
TfiE BED WING SToNXWARE
.
ffnot
CO,
RED WING, Minn,,
deliverecl
within 10
days.
'a/g1
In any event, Union
Maid remains one
of Woody's best
known songs.
401
The Statue of Liberty at sunset New
Photo:.John Lantero
usn'|5.
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-"*-./
h-^ r(r.- b. W
t s-re-? {^fr4 &
Wo
tdA
PITTSBURGH
,,.*;,',T"',lll'i{llT#ffi i,::"5;'iYrxl#?,iJX,?:'J,J#Liliinltl."
Pittsburgh town is a smol<y old town, Pittsburgh!
Pittsburgh town is a smol<y old town, Pittsburgh!
Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town,
Solid ironfrom McKeesport down,
In Pittsburgh! ktrd, God, Pittsburgh!
Used from
McKeesport on
first day of 5P
air mail rate:
August 1,1928.
,r,6tf.f}.'1
toaue 1
AIR IIIAIL
2aoph4
Ir. 3att. I. Eparrlcrl.
lot tro. 20r.
, Sar Jerscy.
Bureau precancellations,
applied at time of production by the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing.
From the Allegheny to the Ohio, Pinsburgh!
Allegheny to the Ohio, Pittsburgh!
Allegheny to the Ohio,
They're .joining up in the C 1.O.,
In Pittsburgh! Lord, God, Pittsburgh!
BOAMTOWN BILL
Woody's tribute to the oil field workers of America. and to their union.
Come all you oil Jield workers and listen to n1\' song,
I vt'orkedfor Drake in'59,w'av back inTittrsville,
tlti state called Pennst'h,ctrtia, 'tv'as that Alleeheny field,
Beert clnsing oilf etds e\.er'since. Qil(l nt.\' ttdnte i5 Boomtott'n Bil[.
I'm L' .S A. and C .1.O.. ond nt name is Boonttotrn Bill'
'Tv'cts
First Successful Oil Well
@€
---#!.-
Jolm Van Spnonsen
411 Snqden Road
Mn-.
WqeLzo
::ry=::'a::.::p::.::...-:..=ffi.-'j::.-:_:--l
6{,
tlQN J ettte.q
07 481
Titusville, Pennsylvania
August 27,1859
:j
iftc
D.fl.
Daat.
THIS TICKET.€QVERS ALL CLAII{ FOR
ALLOWANCEiI
+*_€
o
This oil i. received i:r!o the general ctock of
the Nationa.l Tlan'it Conrpan'' f61' 1;26rl nrtatinn
and deiirerv ar anv delilerv noinf rvithin tlte
I]NITED PIPE LJNES DI\/ISIQN. SiIbiCCt tN
t.;, ;"d .o"A;Co", heretctfore rag{eed. upon.
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Reduced size color photocopy.
U.S. revenue stamp used on receipt for petroleum sent by pipeline.
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEw YORK ISLAND
1913 MASSACRE
Woody's ballad about
someone falsely shouted
a fatal incident in which
"Fire!" into a Christmas Eve
parfy for striking copper miners and their families. 73
people, including 34 children, were trampled to death
or suffocated while attempting to escape. Many people
suspected that strike breakers were responsible.
Take a trip with me in 1913,
To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country.
I'll take t-ou to a place called ltalian Hall,
Where the miners are having a big Christmas ball.
1
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\:tia*-t' ,l
!\
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MTNERS coMrNG To SURFACE, CALUMET,
MICH
' I . ( ja,
:.,L....i-,\.,.
"t
Reduced size color photocopy of reverse of post
card picturing Calumet, Michigan, miners.
t,.SIBINO€F & FEIO.
PUBL
No. 2s4a
//0_
Check from a Calumet mining company printed on revenue stamped paper.
WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO TI{E NEW YORK ISLAND
25 UNION TROUBADOUR
LUDLOW MASSACRE
Woody's ballad about the deadly 1914 confrontation between striking coal miners and their families on one
side, and polorado National Guardsmen and deputy sheriffs on the other. The massacre took place when the
guardsmen and deputies set fire to the strikers' tents, and then gunned down people in the ensuing confusion.
Running gun battles continued for several days thereafter, and the death toll eventually reached at least 74.
It
was early springtime tlwt thc strikc was on,
They drove us miners out ofdoors,
Out from the houses tlnt the company owned,
We moved inlo tents up a ol.d ltdlow.
National Guard commemorative stamps.
I
I
l
e,/€n a
6za,
f-? @
/l
*ra-t
Registry dispatch
receipt card from
Ludlow, Colorado.
You struck a match and the blnze it started,
You pulled the triggers of your Gatling guns"
I made a run for the children, but the fire wall stopped me,
I 3 children died from your guns.
WOODY GU'I.HRIb,: I.ROM CALIT.URNIA I U I htb Nts,W I UI(IT I5LAI\IJ
Page
Ludlow Massacre
from
Sing O.ut!
magazlne,
NovemberDecember
1y74.
This song appeared in Sing Out! 17 years ago (Vol.8, No.
VicePresident. Masacres are nothing new in the Rockefeller
family, and any similarities between Ludlow and Attica
aren't coincidental.
3). but it's reprinted here in honor of our new
Another song about the Ludlow Massacre. written by
Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson, appears in Hard-Hitting
Songs for Hard-Hit People (Oak, N.Y,). A recent recording
of Woody's song is on Barbara Dane's album / Hate the
Capialist Sysrlm (P-1014), available from
Records, Box 889. Brooklyn, N.Y.
It
They drove us mi
I was worried bad about
mY
children,
Soldiers guarding the railroad bridge;
Every once in a while a bullet would
rlv,
Kick up gravel under my feet.
We were so afraid you would
ners
out
of doors
up at old Lud -
tents
kill
Paredop
1202.
that the strike *as
- Iy
was ear
1
out from the
low.
I never will forget
the look on the
faces
Of the men and women that awful day
When we stood around to preach their
funerals
And lay the corpses of the dead away.
our
We told the Colorado governor to
phone the President,
Tell him to call off his National Guard;
Carried our young ones and a pregnant But the National Guard belonged to the
children,
We dug us a cave that was seven foot
deep;
governor,
woman
didn't try so very hard.
Down inside the cave to sleeP.
So he
That very night you soldiers waited
Until us miners was asleep;
You snuck around our little tent town,
Soaked oui tents with your kerosene.
Orr women from Trinidad they hauled
You struck a match and the blaze
it
some potatoes
Up to Walsenburg in a
little cart;
They sold their potatoes and brought
some grrns back
And put a gun in every hand.
started;
You pulled the triggers of your gatling
The state soldiers jumpedus in the
guns;
made a run for the children but the
fire wall stopped me,
They did not know that we had these
I
wire fence corner;
guns;
And the red-neck miners mowed down
Thirteen children died from your guns.
them trooPers,
You should have seen them poor boys
run:
I carried my blanket to a wire fence
corner,
Watched the fire till the blaze died
down;
I helped some peoPle grab their
belongings
While your butlets killed us all around.
lo
We took some cement and walled the
cave up,
Where you killed these thirteen
children inside;
I said
"God bless the Mine Workers
Union, "
And then I hung my head and cried.
John D. Jr. and John D. Sr,
Culver Pictures
words and Music bv woody Guthrlo
O 196r by sanga Muslc
All Rights Re$wed
Used by P€rmi$lon
SING OUTI
WOODY GLITHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEW YORK ISLAND
THE DYING MINER (or GOODBYE. CENTRALIA)
Woody's memorial to the 1 1 1 coal miners, mostly members of United Mine Workers of America Local 57, wha
died iir the Centralia, Illinois, mine disaster of 1947. Woody fashioned lyrics from messages rvritten by the
trapped miners on the slate walls.
Ir happenecl on hour ago,
Ilay down tn this runnel o.f coal,
Thi gas cctught fire fi'orn sontebodt,'s lamp,
And the rniners are choking in smoke.
SWEEPSTAKES CLAIM DEPT.
2400 N St., NW
Washington, D.C.20037
CoaICar1870s
1.).l
l!).2
ffi
Bulk Fiate
IISA
-.^,.41E&(+
FEEIi[
-ww7
i#.'b
*l'l;:li'Nryg
Proper use of 13.2Q Coal Car stamp on.3rd class bulk rate mail.
ry-.T--T*-:?
; iflin+lc f,enrral R. F
1^1. iq i;
.it it\ ,i i,rN, jt L.
-dfiti
Mendon and Centralia
Railway Post Office
L.:{.i"
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'p*$f
postmark.
o
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afi(,.ui
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t:
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Dear sisters and brothers, goodbte,
Dear mother and father, goodbt,e.
fuIt fingers are weak and I cannor v,rite,
Goodbye, C entralia, goodbve,
.._
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n
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WOODY GUTHRIE: FROM CALIFORNLA TO THE NEW YORK
ISI'j'ND
IÂDIES AUXILIARY
A light hearted single stanza piece WoodY gomposed
in response to a request from the ladies auxiliary of
some union that he write it a song.
Oh, that ladies Auxiliary, it's a good awiliary,
'Bout the best awiliary that you ever did see.
atmiliary, see the Ladies Anxiliary
If you need an auxiliary,
It' s that Indies,4ux-il-i-' ry !
Corner card is from Ladies Auxiliary
of union local whose blood bank is
advertised in meter stamp.
$
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2.6 THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
In l94l the Bonneville Power Administration, an agency of the Interior Department, hired Woody to provide
songs for use in a documentary movie called The Columbia. Woody toured the Northwest for 30 days, at the
end of which he submitted 26 songs. Some were earlier compositions, but most were written explicitly for the
project. Three were eventually used in the movie, which was not released until 1949.
F:'"-
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t.,.]
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^\€y
Stephen I,. Suffet
t+L-05 V7tn street
Sunnyside, NY LLL04
Columbia River valley
shown on bistate
revenue stamp.
W
poBr
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i-f) k ----.'
Trts Stlr
r
BrWntrrex
Mrssae
Mly
0x
COLUMBIA RIYER, WASH. postmark.
2.6 THF. PACIFIC NORTHWEST
ROLL ON, COLUMBIA
The geography and history of the Columbia River, as told by Woody.
Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through,
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew,
Cana.dian Northwest to the ocean so blue,
It's roll on, Columbia, roll on!
Stamps picture sprigs of Douglas
I
tI
', '
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fir.
HOOD RIVER, OREGON
postmark. Tributary mentioned
ln song.
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Cover damaged and stamp lost when plane crashed into the Willamette River, another tributary
mentioned in the song. Note GUTHRIE STA. postmark. No known connection to Woody.
Other great rivers add power to v-ou,
Yakima, Snake, and Klickitat, too,
Sandy, Willarnefte, and Hood River, too,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on!
WOODY GLITHRIE: FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE NEw YORK ISI-AND
2 .6 THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
TALKING COLUMBIA
Woody's musings while looking at the Bonneville Dam.
Down along the river, just sitting on arock,
I-ooking at the boats in the Bonneville lock,
Gate swings open and the boat sails in,
She toots her whistle and she's gone again.
Gasoline a-gaing up,
Wheat a-coming down.
Wett, I filted up my hat brim, drunk a sweet taste,
Thought about the river going to waste,
Thought about the dust, thaught about the sand',
Thought about the people, thought about the land.
Everybody running 'round all over creation,
Just looking for some kind of a little place.
A*t r,\,ortE*ra. : '
Sh*.f,
f mrrnr.r.t Drl-6sEt
r#ffirH**# i
rt,,
ffiPoSTCARD€:
ffi,
**ffi,q;S
Reduced size color photocopy.
Bonneville Dam picture post card. Lock is shown at rightmost channel.
Well,l pulled out my perrcil and I scribbled this song,
Figured all of them salmon just couldn't be wrong.
Them salmonfish is pretty shrewd,
They got Senntors and politicians, too.
Just like a Presi.dent,
Run every four years.
T HE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
2.6
THE GRAND COULEE DAM
Woody's song in praise of the largest of the dams in the Bonneville Power Administration system.
Well, the world has sevenwonders, the travelers always tell,
I guess you know them well,
But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair land,
It's the big Columbia River and the big Gran"d Coulee Dam.
Some gardens and some towers,
--_+---
ing
lda.ehine Co.
nit St.,
Bureau of Engraving and Printing photo essay
for 3c Grand Coulee Dam stamp showing
rejected design. Ex-Sol Glass collection.
Ohi-o
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VIA AIR MAIL
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Grand Coulee Dam stamps used from U.S. Army Post Office in Japan.
za
OREGON TRAIL
Woody's story of 2fth century migrants following in the footsteps of
lfth
century pioneers.
I've been a-grubbing on a little farm,
On the flat andwindy plains,
I've been a-listening to the hungry cattle bawl.
I'm gonnn pack my wife and kids,
I'm gonna hit that western road,
I'm gonnn hit thnt Oregon Trail this coming fall.
OREGON STATEHOOD CENTENNIAL
AGON MAIL
7 VnilB
z
,
1335
Carried by
covered wagon
over route of
Oregon Trail.
kriz. 4otJfieU-
Ttr
OREGIETN
vra
THE OREGON
19'11
12 Pur ;;
#"*
tNDEPENDENtE, MtEiSOURt
INDEPENDENtrE,
atr&i^\
to* r'4
F'V^"'
TRAI L
APRIL . AUGUST 1959
Oreqon Trail
f50th Anniversity
I
o
(t
FIRST DAY OF ISSUE
o
Colorano
cachet.
-Y
6
o
s
-9
o
(J
First Day of Issue
2.6 T HE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
BIGGEST THING THAT MAN HAS EVER DONE
(OT
THE GREAT HISTORICAL BUM )
Some historical bragging, Woody Guthrie style.
Woody made certain to add a few verses about the Grand Coulee Dam.
I'm just a lonesome ffaveler, the Great Historical Bum,
Highly educated,from history I have come,
I built the Rock of Ages, 'tvvas in the year of I ,
And that was about ihe biggest thing that man has ever done-
mhm
ilmlk
IMilISE
ilsilrr[F
rL$silrl
rnhsrE
Francis Parkman, the great lfth century
historian, appears on imperforate error
coil pair at right.
I worked in the Garden of Eden, 'twas in the year of 2,
loined the Apple Pickers (Jnion, I always paid my dues,
I'm the man-that signed the contract to raise the rising sunAnd that was aboui the biggest thing that man has ever done.
Canceled-to-order stamp shown at
right for sake of philatelic variety.
1-5
9:ilt)
AM
1E52
l,?nst\.
GfuA}ID
COULEE
i:,rAr, r,
COU LE
L
DA
DAM
i/..OI Id! COLUI'\SA OlvEQ,w
S COr{-
|LETIDtNlg42 VillLt lts PnrriAQY pUQoOSE t5 t0
f )0vrDt. u/ArLQ roa ieQ rtdroN. tBt EL€CTQ|C powtt
(
NtDAr t O(tq64000 i v) !5 0f nt iltNtJouS srtOQlNCt'r
)1
L..'
1 .,
r
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j
I
ro rhl DtvtLoprnfNT 0r rHL pACtrlc AoQTHw€sI
I At QISIQ\O|A f0t[1€0 bv iBt oarn 15 r5lfnrlls toilrj
I N0 CApAgrL OF rQQt6ATfl6 l?00,C00 !1:0ts 0F FE?Trit LAflD Fopt.rtQLv _<rlD00arJ^r6 otr,v 5ia.E'iaul q
Anderson cachet.
I ctimbed
the rocxl\ cafl-v-ott where the Columbia River rolls,
Seen the salmon leaping the rapids an^d the
falls.
The big Grand Coulee Darn in the State of Washington,
Is just-about the biggest thing that man has ever done.
HffiIh
Mllte
il$mnffi
rweE
PASTURES OF PLENTY
One of the songs Woody composed for the Bonneville Power Administration,
but really an anthem for all of America's migrant farm laborers.
It's a ntighn'hard rov'thot mt poor hands have hoed,
^\h' poor feet have traveled a hot dusn' road,
Out o-f vour Dust Bov'l attd v'estv'ard v'e rolled.
.lttd t'our deserl v'as hot attd t'our tttottttaitts v'ere cold
ffi
ffi
Cali.torrtia..\ri:orn. I nnke all rour crops.
Then it's rrcrth up to Oregon to gather tour hops.
Diq the beets from tour ground, utt the grapes front vour vine,
To set on vour table tour light sparkling v'irte.
fi,t
Plate number block of 37Q stamp
honoring Cesar Chavez. leader of
the United Farm Workers union
which organized migrant farm
laborers beginning in the 1960s.
KLING WINE
4 GArS. $3.00
J
1148
+
State revenue stamps include a Utah beer revenue stamp printed on a label picturing hops.

woody guthrie - American Philatelic Society

Transcription

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