I never knew that about "Reuben James," which I first learned from Sing Out magazine, where a much shorter version of the lyrics appeared sometime in the mid-1960s.

Of course, I know that the chorus asked "What were their names, tell me what were their names, did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?" I just didn't know that the lesser-known verses answered the question ~ completely, if you knew Woody's entire lyric.

Interesting that his later lyric, "Deportees," was also similarly concerned about the names and identities of modest "common" folk who would otherwise be forgotten after a tragic demise. A recurring theme, and obviously a serious concern of Woody Guthrie's