Aye, Jack Elliott always used to say, "Woody wrote that after seeing the movie. He never read the book. Didn't have to. He'd lived that life!"

PLEASE take note of the genius of taking care of the ENTIRE TRIP TO CALIFORNIA in one little couplet-----

They buried grandpa Joad by the side of the road,
Buried grandma on the California side...

It allowed him to keep the song a bit shorter---25 verses.

I've been told that John Steinbeck actually said once that Woody told the story better in his song than he had in the entire novel. I doubt the truth of that, but it could be...

Art Thieme