Pastures of Plenty (Woody Guthrie)-public domain?

Subject: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:14 PM

I would like to know if Woody Guthrie's song "Pastures of Plenty" is in the public domain yet.

Thanks

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: Trapper
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:36 PM

Guest-

I'm no expert, but my understanding of US copyright laws says it enters the public domain 70 years after the artist has died. Since Woody died in 1967, that would make it PD in 2037.

- Al

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:56 PM

I know not about that particular song, but at one period of his life Woody Guthrie disdained copyright, and wanted people to make free with his songs.
Now, when someone records such an "available" song they quite often will copyright what they've done. The only rights such a copyright confers are as to any modifications, or an accompaniment, but not the song itself.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:00 PM

The tune is traditional of course - Pretty Polly.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: GUEST, mudjack (guest)
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 04:00 PM

Pastures of Plenty was paid for by the US Government for his writing services during the BPA dam constructions in the Northwest. They didn't think of getting ownership but it is of course a Woody Guthrie song, so ripping it off would be keeping in the true tradition of Woody.
Mudjack

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: Art Thieme
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 05:39 PM

I do believe all of Woody's songs are owned by the Guthrie Children's Trust Fund---or some similar organization. Check with Nora Guthrie at th Woody Guthrie Foundation And Archive. www.woodyguthrie.org

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Feb 01 - 12:43 PM

Bound for Glory - the song is trad not his - It's in the Lomaxes' book about 1 year before he hit the road. He acknowledged the confusion because he liked singing the song himself and because he titled of his autobiograthy after the song. - A damn good read by the way.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: Max
Date: 20 Feb 01 - 01:03 PM

We had a few Woody Guthrie songs in the DT published by Appleseed. We were rather sternly asked to remove them.

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: Doctor John
Date: 20 Feb 01 - 01:29 PM

Harold Leventhal, one of the trustees of the Guthrie estate, keep a very tight - and destructive hold - on Woody Guthrie material, only allowing Arlo and Pete Seeger record the material of which he held the copyright. He relented in later years realizing that this attitude would hardly keep Woody's memory or his songs alive and was certainly not in the Woody Guthrie spirit, as DaveO says above. I don't know what the position is now. Dr John

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie song - 'public domain?'
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Feb 01 - 07:22 PM

Woody said he was "hired on as a camera man's helper", during the BPA project - so if the US Government wasn't paying him to write the songs, they wouldn't own the rights to them.

But I think the idea of anyone owning the rights to a song after the person who wrote them is dead - apart maybe from while the children are growing up, or during the lifetime of the wife or husband - seems pretty sick to me. And I'd adduce Woody in support of that view:

Was a great high wall there that tried to stop me;
Was a great high sign there says "Private Prop'ty."
But on the other side, it didn't say nothin' -
That side was made for you and me.

Subject: Pastures of Plenty
From:
Date: 20 Feb 02 - 01:09 PM

I would like to find the lyrics to Pastures of Plenty, can anyone help?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pastures of Plenty
From: Sorcha
Date: 20 Feb 02 - 01:24 PM

In the database, Pastures of Plenty

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pastures of Plenty
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 20 Feb 02 - 01:26 PM

It is in the Digitrad, and I've just tried to do a link, but the server is offline at the moment. I don't know how long it's going to be offline, but use the alphabet under the "Digitrad Links" box at the top of the forum, and scroll down until you get to the title you want. When the system's working again, it's just a click away from there.

Joan

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pastures of Plenty
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 20 Feb 02 - 01:29 PM

Crossed in the "post"! And Sorcha's link works. Thanks.

Joan

Subject: RE: Pastures of Plenty (Woody Guthrie)
From: mariamaroo
Date: 07 Apr 03 - 06:30 PM

Well a lot of songwriters have lived and died in poverty because of unfair publishing laws (and unscrupulous publishers). I think a lot of them would like to think that at least their descendents would reap some of the rewards, finally. It's really an interesting issue. Pete Seeger sends a portion of the royalties from at least some of his songs to organizations or people in parts of the world where the song came from. Part of the royalties for 'Turn Turn Turn', for example, go to a group in Israel, because it's from the bible. And some of 'Wimoweh' goes to wherever Solomon Linda lived in Africa.

Subject: RE: Pastures of Plenty (Woody Guthrie)
From: Greg B
Date: 21 Nov 11 - 06:44 PM

"A damn good read by the way."

Bill Doerflinger told me that he basically ghost-wrote the book Bound for Glory. He said that Woody at that point in his life didn't have the kind of organization and focus that was needed to produce a coherent manuscript.

During the process, Woody stayed much of the time at the Doerflingers' big old yellow brick house in Convent Station, NJ. (Bill said that the place had something like 90 windows, and I believe it. One definitely needed a good sweater when visiting in the winter.)

Guthrie afficianados will recall that Woody began his hospital stay at Greystone in Morris County New Jersey after being picked up wandering at night and confused on old Highway 24 (now 124). Well, folks, that spot was just a very short distance from the Doerflinger house, which is just a block off of that main road.

I have to believe that Woody made up his mind to go and drop in on Bill and either walked the wrong direction or got off at the wrong station, thus beginning one of the closing chapters of his life.