Woody Guthrie (1912 - 1967) was the most important American folk music artist of the first half of the 20th century. Coming out of Oklahoma, Guthrie had firsthand knowledge of the Dust Bowl diaspora chronicled in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. In fact, Guthrie wrote his own version of the story in a song called "Tom Joad." By the time he gained recognition in the '40s, Guthrie had written hundreds of songs, many of which remain folk standards to this day. He was also an author (Bound for Glory) and a newspaper columnist. Guthrie made some recordings for RCA in 1940, but much of his work was issued on the small Folkways label.
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Pretty Boy Floyd Lyrics
Woody Guthrie
PRETTY BOY FLOYD
(Woody Guthrie)
Come gather round me children, a story I will tell
Of Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw, Oklahoma knew him well
Was in the town of Shawnee on a Saturday afternoon
His wife beside him in the wagon as into town they rode
A deputy sheriff approached them in a manner rather rude
Using vulgar words of language and his wife she overheard
Well, Pretty Boy grabbed a long chain, and the deputy grabbed a gun
And in the fight that followed, he laid that deputy down
Then he took to the trees and rivers to lead a life of shame
Every crime in Oklahoma was added to his name
Yes he took to the trees and timbers on the Canadian river shore
And the outlaw found a welcome at many a farmer's door
Yes, there's many a starving farmer, the same story told
How the outlaw paid their mortgage and saved their little home
Others tell about the stranger who came to beg a meal
And underneath the napkin left a thousand dollar bill
It was in Oklahoma City, it was on a Christmas day
Came a whole carload of groceries and a letter that did say
Well, you say that I'm an outlaw, and you say that I'm a thief
Here's a Christmas dinner for the families on relief
Well, as through the world I've rambled, I've seen lots of funny
men
Some rob you with a sixgun, some with a fountain pen
As through this world you ramble, as through this world you roam
You'll never see an outlaw drive a family from its home
recorded by Seeger - 3 Saints
@outlaw
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