American Songs of Protest is a fine book, although it must be feeling its years by now. Unfortunately I know of nothing else published since which is in any way as comprehensive.

It includes a nice story about how Greenway found himself - entirely fortuitously - seated next to Woody Guthrie on a plane ride from New York to California.

As they flew over Oklahoma, Greenway woke Guthrie, pointed through the clouds and said "That's your old homestead down there".

Woody said "Got a pen?".

Greenway gave him a pen and watched in amazement as Guthrie wrote out a song called Gonna Lay My Head On A Bank Of Oklahoma Clouds, without a single hesitation.

Greenway said "Do you always write songs that fast?"

Guthrie said. "Nope. Only when I got a good pen."