How many songs did folk singer Woody Guthrie write?
One of the towering fingers in modern American folk, the extent of Woody Guthrie's songbook has often been the subject of great scrutiny.
(Credits: Far Out / Library of Congress)
Music » From The Vault
Fri 7 February 2025 4:00, UK
One of the towering influences on contemporary American folk, despite enjoying little adulation during his lifetime, his legacy is showered with retrospectively, singer-songwriter and travelling bard Woody Guthrie scored country and talking blues protest songs championing socialism, workersâ rights, and documenting the plight of the everyman during the New Deal era and the Dust Bowlâs devastation of the countryâs vast prairies.
Born in 1912 in Oklahomaâs early oil boom town Okemah, Guthrie grew up at the centre of the Native American Muscogee-Creek Nation and a large black township in nearby Boley. Known as a âSundown Townâ, a reference to the many signs across the area warning black folk to leave the area before sunset, Guthrie witnessed firsthand the discrimination that formed part of Okemahâs social mores, later alleging his conservative Democrat father Charles was involved in the â11 lynching of Laura and LD Nelson, and later a keen member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Whatever degree of internal disentangling Guthrie undertook from the flagrant racism so enmeshed in his formative environment, a path toward Civil Rights support and loathing for fascism, both domestic and international, soon defined his worldview and emancipatory lyricism. As the Dust Bowl crisis struck rural America, Guthrie joined the Westward exodus of fellow âOkiesâ after a spell in Texas to the shining hinterland of California and, by the end of the â30s, hosted The Woody and Lefty Lou Show on Los Angelesâ KFVD radio with hillbilly artist Maxine âLefty Louâ Crissman, taking full advantage of his broadcast platform to perform songs aimed for the working-class experience of the Great Depression.
It was through the newfound attention of the radio show and his working men folk songs that he attracted the cityâs socialist circles, eventually embracing communism despite a lack of card membership of the Communist Party USA. He wrote regular columns for the communist Peopleâs World magazine and reportedly expressed admiration for Joseph Stalinâs leadership of the USSR and hoped for Kim Il-sungâs victory in the Korean War. âLeft wing, right wing, chicken wing⊠it donât make no difference to me,â Guthrie supposedly quipped when pressed on his communist commitments. Despite such glib evasions, his red reputation kept him firmly on the FBIâs watchlist, and he was ultimately booted off his radio show in â39.
It was after he arrived in New York in â40 that he reached a career-high, recording his seminal Dust Bowl Ballads LP and writing the immortal rebuke against âGod Bless Americaâs sanitised patriotic fantasy with âThis Land Is Your Landâ, a populist anthem promoting the American Dream as an ideal fit for everybody regardless of class or creed. It was also the period of prolific writing intensity, penning thousands of prose and poems, crafting songs for the Popular Front left-folk ensemble Almanac Singers with Pete Seeger, and even his semi-fictitious autobiography Bound for Glory.
So, how many songs did Guthrie write?According to the Woody Guthrie Center, he wrote over 3,000 songs, albeit many never recorded. His voluminous body of work was sketched across over 100 notebooks, correspondence papers, and various documentation all collated at the centreâs archive, illustrating the singerâs lifelong dedication to left-activism, anti-capitalism, and fighting political oppression.
Following his wartime duties as a drafted Merchant Marine, the Huntingtonâs disease that claimed his mother as a teen soon reared its head and plagued the remainder of his life, dying bedridden and unable to move to a New York psychiatric centre in â67. One of his last notable works was â54âs âOld Man Trumpâ, an excoriating attack on US President Donald Trumpâs multi-millionaire father, Fred, for his racist real estate practices in Brooklynâs Beach Haven apartments, refusing tenancy to people of colour in adherence with the Federal Housing Agencyâs âinharmonious uses of housingâ policy, a euphemistic practice of ensuring white only residentials.
Disgusted and moving out as soon as he could, Guthrieâs fierce class analysis and unerring social justice saw which way the wind was blowing with the real estate mogul dynasty and their discriminatory extraction of wealth. As the global right pursues its oppressive agenda with an emboldened full-chest in the political contemporary, Guthrieâs humble but powerful folk humanism praising collective solidarity, universal empathy, and the tearing down of capitalâs ruthless stranglehold still echoes with stark pertinence.
Related Topics
Woody Guthrie
Subscribe To The Far Out Newsletter
The supermodel, 29, who was seen last month at Paris Fashion Week , put up a series of images for her 289 million Instagram followers.
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
KRAFTON has revealed Project Arc's identity.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
BLACKPINK singer Lisa has dropped a new single titled 'Born Again' in collaboration with Doja Cat and RAYE on February 6 ahead of her debut solo album.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
)
Bradley Cooper is rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles and he could attend with Gigi Hadid
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
&description=Celebrities attending the Super Bowl 2025: More about the star-studded event Bradley Cooper is rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles and he could attend with Gigi Hadid %23bradleycooper) |
|
|
Poppy has performed a unique cover of Sabrina Carpenter's 'Taste' for 'Like A Version', which includes an interpolation of a The Divinyls hit.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
GELO Ball finds the perfect pick-and-roll partner for his viral hit.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 Drops His âTweakerâ Remix With Lil Wayne GELO Ball finds the perfect pick-and-roll partner for his viral hit. %23lilwayne) |
|
|
A scandal over offensive tweets has made Netflixâs former Oscars frontrunner a toxic proposition, writes Louis Chilton. Now, all bets are off â but that might not be such a good thing
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Apple Cider Vinegar introduces Belle Gibson's partner who figured out the truth about her cancer claims
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Brooklyn Beckham's actress wife accused her pet's groomer of causing the dog's untimely demise.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Talented singer Song Dae Kwan took his last breath on February 7, leaving his family, fans, and co-stars grieving.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.