Roll on Columbia: Woody Guthrie

In spring 1941, the cusp of the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor, a 28 year old, unemployed Dust Bowl balladeer, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie took a one month, temporary job with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) on the Columbia River. The BPA needed a folksinger to promote the benefits of building dams to produce cheap electricity. Guthrie, and his wife and 3 kids needed the paycheck. He wrote 26 songs in 30 days - classics like Roll on Columbia and Pastures of Plenty. This documentary is the story of the most prolific moment in Guthrie's extraordinary career. To order the complete video, visit:

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/ec/wguthrie/

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Woody
• Guthrie
• Columbia
• River
• Bonneville
• Power
• Administration
• Great
• Depression
• Dust
• Bowl
• Documentary

[Glorbon]

yeah i mean thoos days. It's true that life was harder then. Well atleast we had some contact with our nature, stress related diseases was rare and people was overall more happy.

Todays "career society" is sick! And i hate it!

[LifeSucksSoberOrHigh]

I think its called Goodbye, (the one about the minors),... Its about these minors who are stuck and are gonna die and they know it,.. so they write to there loved ones,.. goodbye sweet people goodbye,.. goodbye sweet children goodbye,......... ....Damn I'm cryin again.

[JohnsonPollock]

@jerryma They can't even get temp work now. At the height of the New Deal even Woody only got a few weeks.

[JohnsonPollock]

Doncha just love how they rooked Woody? Thought he had a job, shows up and suddenly nobody ever heard of him. Has to beg for a few weeks of temporary work instead of annual. Well, at least he got some money and we got the songs. By the way, didja notice Khan says he had never heard of Woody when he showed up, then immediately says "Woody you can only be a temp worker because of your notorious politics"? How did he know his politics if he never heard of him?

[paulo35961]

@amysita77 typical dopey leftist loon reply... making me look good will get you nowhere.

[amysita77]

@paulo35961 Kill yourself.

[gkims2007]

Lynching of Laura & Lawrence Nelson.In the event, no one was charged. Among those involved was Charley Guthrie, father of folk singer Woody Guthrie, who was born a yr later. Charley's role is uncertain but he appears 2 have attended as an observer or active participant, and he went on 2 become an enthusiastic member of the Ku Klux Klan. The incident was commemorated by Woody Guthrie in 3 songs, High Balladree, Bloody Poll Tax Chain, & Don't Kill My Baby & My Son, also called Old Dark Town.

[Pikkerpukkerpotker]

@Glorbon And the lfie is getting harder again... As you propably know! So Guthrie needed again!

[IMNOTAPOLICEOFFICER]

@savestheday0

what do yoo mean

[IMNOTAPOLICEOFFICER]

3:15

I love america

[paulo35961]

a well intentioned american that swallowed the stateist socialism of the day.

[savestheday0]

@Glorbon Are you kidding me? Woody Guthrie's family life is practically a tragedy. Nostalgia is a dangerous friend.