Woody Guthrie: Singing a Revolution

People who write and share songs have an opportunity many of us only wish we had: a chance to share ideas with our communities and our society. Woody Guthrie was a songwriter, and he used his voice not only to entertain listeners, but also to share messages about many things he thought were important. Woody’s life was a roller coaster of tragedy and fun, difficult and slightly better times. Through his experiences he learned, saw, and thought many things about his country. Woody had ideas to share, and audience to share with, and a genuine, unique voice that helped him to stand out. Woody wrote from his own life, and so it is important to understand the rough times he endured that helped to create such a special man. The struggles of life that Woody knew so well began for him in childhood. Before Woody was born, his parents Charlie and Nora Guthrie had seen a few years of success. In the small farm town of Okemah, Oklahoma, Charlie gave up a successful political career for an even more prosperous career dealing property. By 1912, when Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born, their fortune had begun to turn around. As the small town became an oil boom town, Charlie’s business could not stand up against corporate competition, and he lost all of his properties (Jackson). Furthermore, the family had recently lost their home in a fire that may have been started by Woody’s mother, Nora. This event seems like a premonition for two recurrent hardships of Woody’s life--fire disasters and the erratic behavior of his mother (Cray, 3-17). Woody’s mother had a very significant impact on his lifestyle. Although his father sang and played a little on the fiddle, it was his mother’s singing and piano playing that kindled Woody’s appreciation for music. When times were rough for the family, the folk songs his mother played would be increasingly melancholy (Cray, 13). Later, when Woody began to play his own music, many of these songs remained in his mind. His mother’s increasingly