Arlo Guthrie - Oklahoma Hills

Is it possible to be a one-hit wonder three times? The question is provoked by the recording career of Arlo Guthrie, which is best remembered for three songs in three different contexts. There is "The City of New Orleans," Guthrie's only Top 40 hit, which earns him an entry in Wayne Jancik's The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders. There is also "Coming Into Los Angeles," which Guthrie sang at the legendary Woodstock music festival, and which featured prominently in both the Woodstock movie and multi-platinum soundtrack album. And there is "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," the comic-monologue-in-song that gave him his initial fame and took up the first side of his debut LP, the million-selling Alice's Restaurant. Whether these successful tracks make him a one-, two-, or three-hit wonder, they were arguably both flukes in a performing career that was still going strong a full 40 years after Guthrie first gained national recognition and facilitators of that career. With their help, he spent 15 years signed to a major record label, charting 11 LPs, after which he was able to set up his own label and go on issuing albums. More significant, he maintained a steady following as a live performer, touring worldwide year after year to play before audiences delighted by his humorous persona and his musical mixture of folk, rock, country, blues, and gospel styles in songs almost equally divided between his own originals and well-chosen cover tunes.
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Many a month has come and gone
Since I've wandered from my home
In those Oklahoma hills
Where I was born

Many a page of my life has turned
Many lessons I have learned
And I feel like in those hills
Where I belong

CHORUS:
Way down yonder in the Indian nation
Ridin' my pony on the reservation
In the Oklahoma hills where I was born

Way down yonder in the Indian nation
A cowboy's life is my occupation
In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born

But as I sit here today
Many mile's I am away
From the place I rode my pony
Through the draw

Where the oak and black-jack trees
Kiss the playful prairie breeze
And I feel back in those hills
Where I belong

CHORUS

Now as I turn life a page
To the land of the great Osage
In those Oklahoma hills
Where I was born

Where the black oil rolls and flows
And the snow white cotton grows
And I feel like in those hills
Where I belong

CHORUS

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[Pilgrim041588]

@superbanana710 i saw arlo play at the strawberry music festival at camp mathers and he is great artist and a terrific story teller. i love this son.

[spacepatrolman]

@RebLev4 yea right arlo is known for albums which was alluded to in the description of this video

[RebLev4]

three hit wonder ? ---- that is not what it is about---- seeger/ guthrie/ weavers folk era--

[VNTPLA]

Great version, that dobro, steel guitar combination and echoe effetct drive me crazy !

[ejgiv]

Uncle Jack's version is far superior.

[budw84]

This song makes me wish sometimes I was from Oklahoma, but I still proudly hail from the Buckeye state.

[99BobJ]

This song was written by Arlo's father, Woody Guthrie, and was first recorded by Jack Guthrie (Woody's cousin) in 1946. It was, of course, a massive hit for Hank Thompson. This is a great version, a little slower than most...

[superbanana710]

"arguably both flukes in a performing career "

Pretty lame statement man. Arlo Guthrie is without a doubt one of the classic American folk artists of our time. Just because he didn't produce many "pop" hits his musical talent is definitely more than a fluke. If you've ever listened to Arlo speak you would probably realize that he is one of the few artists who could truly care less about producing a top 40 hit. I think you need a little music lesson

[Brenda48ful]

For me, this is the definitive version of this timeless folk classic. Anyone who has ever felt homesick for the country life can relate to it.

Brenda

Peace River, Alberta, Canada