Songs of the New Deal and WPA

Subject: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: TonyK
Date: 03 Nov 25 - 02:50 PM

I'm looking for songs about the New Deal and/or WPA in 1930"s America. I tried to use the forum search but got 'server error' so if there's a thread, please direct me to it. I'm to sing background for an art exhibit on the subject.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: TonyK
Date: 03 Nov 25 - 05:33 PM

This Land Is Your Land (lost verses)

As I was walking an endless bread line
My landlord gave me a 2 week deadline
The local paper printed a better headline
This land is not for you and me

This land is their land it is not our land
With your flush apartments – your Cadillac car land
From you Wall St. office to your Hollywood starland
This land is not for you and me

And take your slogans and kindly stow it
If this is our land you’d never know it
Let’s get together and overthrow it
This land was made for you and me

I heard Utah Phillips sing it but I'm not sure who wrote it.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: Cool Beans
Date: 04 Nov 25 - 09:43 AM

Try to find "Songs of the FDR Years" by Roy Berkeley. Several songs on it fit your description.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 05 Nov 25 - 03:24 PM

Go to our Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/search/

Keep the "everything" in the box and search - WPA songs

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

You should return about 50,000 items. If necessary try it twice ... this have been a little wonky on the net the past week.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: TonyK
Date: 06 Nov 25 - 03:53 PM

Thank you very much.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 Nov 25 - 04:38 PM

The American folk song "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" has an uncertain but debated origin, with popular theories suggesting it was composed around 1897 by an IWW member, a Kansas City hobo known as "One-Finger Ellis," or Harry McClintock. The song, originally a parody of the hymn "Revive Us Again," gained fame through the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and was collected by Carl Sandburg in The American Songbag

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 06 Nov 25 - 08:03 PM

Sandman, 1897 was a good 35 years before the New Deal and the WPA.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 03:16 AM

was it not still sung in the 1930s?
along with Hobos.Lullaby which was written by goebbel reeves, the fact Hallelujah was written eralier doe not alter the fact it was possibly probablysung.
Goebbel was a member of the Wobblies.
Big Rock Candy Mountain        2:55
A2                The Hobo's Lullaby        2:54
A3                The Texas Drifter's Warning        2:39
A4                The Hobo's Last Long Ride        3:19
A5                Blue Ridge Mountain Blues        2:45
A6                The Oklahoma Kid        3:30
A7                The Hobo Convention        2:46
B1                The Dim Narrow Trail (Cowboy's Dream)        2:31
B2                Little Joe the Wrangler        2:49
B3                The Cowboy's Lullaby        2:52
B4                The Cowboy's Pal        2:25
B5                Pictures from Life's Other Side        2:58
B6                Dan Kelly's Courtin'        2:52
B7                The Cowboy's Prayer

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 03:18 AM

Which Side Are You On? Which_Side_Are_You...
"Which Side Are You On?" is a song written in 1931 by activist Florence Reece, who was the wife of Sam Reece, a union organizer for the United Mine Workers .

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 03:22 AM

Grand Coulee Dam" is an American folk song recorded in 1941 by Woody Guthrie.
Background
He wrote it during a brief period when he was commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration to write songs as part of a documentary film project about the dam and related projects.
This Land Is Your Land" is a song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. One of the United States' most famous folk songs, its lyrics were written in 1940.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 03:49 AM

I have contributed by providing information about "This land IS YOUR LAND" AND other songs sung by members of the IWW [Wobblies]
The WPA, or
Works Progress Administration, was a U.S. government agency created in 1935 to provide jobs during the Great Depression. It employed millions of people on public works projects like building roads, bridges, and public buildings, but also funded projects for artists, writers, and musicians. The WPA helped provide income, hope, and lasting infrastructure across the country
GRAND COULLIE DAM is an obvious choice, even though it was written in 1941

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 06:31 AM

"was it not still sung in the 1930s?
"along with Hobos.Lullaby which was written by goebbel reeves, the fact Hallelujah was written eralier doe not alter the fact it was possibly probablysung."

I'm sure The Star-Spangled Banner was still sung in the 1930s, but that doesn't make it a song of the New Deal and/or the WPA.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 09:22 AM

Gerry there you are showing your ignorance. THE International workers of the world had a song book caled the little red songbook. here is a table of contents, and one of the songs listed is "hallelujah im a bum




Table of Contents
A Las Bamcadas page 6
AWoridToWin 64
All Used Up 32
Aragon Mill 68
Aristocracy Forever 81
Babylon Updated 66
Banks of Marble 91
The Blackleg Miner 68
The Boss's Darling 65
Box Factory 25
Bread and Roses 76
Buy This American Car 26
Capitalism's Endless Chain 82
Casey Jones, the Union Scab 61
Christians At War 71
Commonwealth of Toil 37
Cotton Mill Girls 42
Down At The Picket] ine 43
Drill. Ye Tamers, Drill 33
Dump the Bosses Off Your Back 25
Ella's Song 24
Fight Like Hell 41
Food Not Finance 22
Forget Me Not 44
The Four Hour Day 15
Freedom Road 45
Give Back My Factory To Me 46
Give Me That New Union Contract 75
Giving Nothing Back 11
Go, I Will Send Thee 9
Goto Work on Monday 89
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum 93
Hijos del Pueblo 4
High Tech 74
Hold the Fort 92
If It Weren't For The Union 20
I'm Dreaming of a Fair Contract 90
The Internationale ...2
Joe Hill , 34
Joe Hill's Last Will 36
Labor's Endless Chain 17
Landlord and Tenant .86
Larimer Street 85
Legal - Illegal 56
Links on the Chain 83
LIP Song .. 18
Lumberjack's Prayer 40
The Men of Kemira 16
Mexican Revolutionary Song 8
Mister Block 84
Moderation 19
The New America 80
Nine to Five Song ... 87
No Nos Moveran 9
Not So Long Ago 14
ad Ma Bell 81
On The Picket Line .88
One More Day Than Them 12
Outa Work Blues 90
The Picket Boogie ,.,.,70
Popular Wobbly 47
PorqueLosPobresNoTienen.. 7

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 03:01 PM

Sandman, can we discuss this without stooping to the level of personal insults and name-calling, please?

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 04:45 PM

no name calling on my part

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 04:52 PM

I used the word ignorance, meaning unknowing, which is how it appears to me example" hallelujah im a bum" was sung by the wobblies in the thirties, it is in their song book

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 09:33 PM

'example" hallelujah im a bum" was sung by the wobblies in the thirties, it is in their song book.' Aragon Mill is also in that song book. If the wobblies sang it in the thirties, they were psychic, as Si Kahn wrote it in 1971.

Go to Work on Monday is in that book. Si Kahn wrote that one, too, in 1975 or thereabouts.

All Used Up is in that book. I suspect that's the Utah Phillips song, written around 1980.

Larimer Street is in that book. That's another Utah Phillips song, from 1973.

Legal – Illegal is in that book. Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl, 1978.

Links on the Chain is in that book. It's a little bit older – Phil Ochs, 1965.

My admiration for the wobblies has increased beyond all bounds, now that I know they were singing songs in the thirties that wouldn't be written for another 25 to 40 years.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 02:43 AM

I am the only person who has suggested, grand coulee dam,
However it is logical to assume that songs written earlier like hallelujah im a bum writte in 1897, if they are in later versions of the wobblies song book, were in earlier version of the song book used in the 1930s.
The "Wobblies song book of the 1930s" refers to various editions of the Little Red Song Book published by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). While earlier editions exist, 1930s versions contained famous songs like "The Preacher and the Slave" and "The Rebel Girl" by Joe Hill, which were often set to the tunes of popular hymns and ballads. These songbooks were central to the IWW's culture, capturing their radical and humorous spirit.
Key features of the 1930s Wobblies songbooks

    Content: These books contained a wide variety of songs that satirized capitalists and glorified the working class. Many songs, like "The Preacher and the Slave" by Joe Hill, used familiar tunes and added new, critical lyrics.
    Purpose: The books were used to rally and inspire workers, a key part of the IWW's revolutionary industrial unionism. They were instrumental in spreading the IWW's message of worker solidarity and organizing.
    Examples of songs:
       "The Preacher and the Slave" ("Pie in the sky when you die")
       "The Rebel Girl"
       "There is Power in a Union"
       "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back"
       "Solidarity Forever"

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 03:24 AM

Let's go back to the post that started this thread: "I'm looking for songs about the New Deal and/or WPA in 1930"s America." Any song written prior to 1933 cannot possibly be about the New Deal, nor about the WPA, no matter who sang it or when they sang it or what book it's in. Any song written prior to 1933 is strictly off-topic for this thread.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 03:34 AM

Grand Coulee Dam
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
Contact Publisher - TRO-Essex Music Group

Well, the world has seven wonders that the trav'lers always tell,
Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well,
But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair lang,
It's the big Columbia River and the big Grand Coulee Dam.

She heads up the Canadian Rockies where the rippling waters glide,
Comes a-roaring down the canyon to meet the salty tide,
Of the wide Pacific Ocean where the sun sets in the West
And the big Grand Coulee country in the land I love the best.

In the misty crystal glitter of that wild and wind ward spray,
Men have fought the pounding waters and met a watery grave,
Well, she tore their boats to splinters but she gave men dreams to dream
Of the day the Coulee Dam would cross that wild and wasted stream.

Uncle Sam took up the challenge in the year of 'thrity-three,
For the farmer and the factory and all of you and me,
He said, "Roll along, Columbia, you can ramble to the sea,
But river, while you're rambling, you can do some work for me."

Now in Washington and Oregon you can hear the factories hum,
Making chrome and making manganese and light aluminum,
And there roars the flying fortress now to fight for Uncle Sam,
Spawned upon the King Columbia by the big Grand Coulee Dam.
© Copyright Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. & TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 03:43 AM

Grand Coulee Dam
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
Contact Publisher - TRO-Essex Music Group

Well, the world has seven wonders that the trav'lers always tell,
Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well,
But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair lang,
It's the big Columbia River and the big Grand Coulee Dam.

She heads up the Canadian Rockies where the rippling waters glide,
Comes a-roaring down the canyon to meet the salty tide,
Of the wide Pacific Ocean where the sun sets in the West
And the big Grand Coulee country in the land I love the best.

In the misty crystal glitter of that wild and wind ward spray,
Men have fought the pounding waters and met a watery grave,
Well, she tore their boats to splinters but she gave men dreams to dream
Of the day the Coulee Dam would cross that wild and wasted stream.

Uncle Sam took up the challenge in the year of 'thrity-three,
For the farmer and the factory and all of you and me,
He said, "Roll along, Columbia, you can ramble to the sea,
But river, while you're rambling, you can do some work for me."

Now in Washington and Oregon you can hear the factories hum,
Making chrome and making manganese and light aluminum,
And there roars the flying fortress now to fight for Uncle Sam,
Spawned upon the King Columbia by the big Grand Coulee Dam.
© Copyright Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. & TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 03:45 AM

It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road
Out of your Dust Bowl and Westward we rolled
And your deserts were hot and your mountains were cold
I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
I slept on the ground in the light of the moon
On the edge of the city you'll see us and then
We come with the dust and we go with the wind
California, Arizona, I harvest your crops
Well its North up to Oregon to gather your hops
Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
To set on your table your light sparkling wine
Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down
Every state in the Union us migrants have been
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win
It's always we rambled, that river and I
All along your green valley, I will work till I die
My land I'll defend with my life if it be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 04:09 AM

Gerry,I have provided lyrics to two songs.and suggested another Woody song,some advice, be positive

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 09:03 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwVFpLpFTe4 the great, rambling jack

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 03:49 PM

Listeners will note that the tune of Grand Coulee Dam owes a lot to Wabash Cannonball.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 07:30 PM

This Land Is Your Land (the lost verses)
is from "The Bosses Songbook" a late 1950's satire put together by Dave Van Ronk and others
you can find a copy of it at internet archive.

https://archive.org/details/TheBossesSongbook

It's a hoot!

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 01:56 AM

WOODY often used existing tunes , however so did Dylan, and MacColl, it doesnt necessarily weaken the strength of the song. woody also used wildwood flower for one of his songs, so what.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 03:28 AM

So what? Well, Guthrie found out "so what" when lawyers for the Wabash Cannonball copyright holders came after him. He made a few changes to his tune to get them to back off.

Does it "weaken" the song? I never wrote that it did, I never wrote anything to even hint that it did, I'm just here to provide some information that someone might find useful some day, that's all.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 04:21 AM

I did not say that you thought it weakened the song, did I?
I have provided information about two suitable songs, greand coulee dam and pastures of plenty plus mentioned the SONGWRITER of This land is your land., as Tony K was not sure who wrote it.
in order to carry out a positive action ,we must develop here a positive vision,quote Dala Lama.
If lawyers came after Woody ,it tells us more about lawyers and whoever it was that copyrighted a tradtional song
William Kindt
first copyrighted the song in 1904, but A.P. Carter later copyrighted his version, which was the first to be officially released by the Carter Family. The song has a complex copyright history, as it is based on older, public-domain train songs, and different versions have different copyright holders.
AP Carter Copyrighted a lot of trad songs, he was in it for the money

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 06:27 AM

Sandman, I think you'll find that Tony K wasn't sure who wrote "the lost verses", the verses an anonymous guest told us came from The Bosses' Songbook. That book doesn't give individual attrributions, so it's still not clear who wrote those verses ––– but I doubt it was Guthrie. The Utah Phillips recording says, "Written-By – Dave Van Ronk, Dick Ellington, Roy Berkeley."

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 08:07 AM

Gerry M, Check out the 1954 definition of trad music, additional anonymous verses
n 1954, the International Folk Music Council defined folk music as
a product of an oral tradition shaped by three factors: continuity (linking the past and present), variation (creative impulse of individuals or groups), and selection by the community (which determines how the music survives). While this definition focused on general folk music, similar principles of oral transmission, continuity, variation, and community selection apply to the development of traditional genres
so whether Guthrie wrote them does not matter,that is apparently the nature of trad music
   
.

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 08:11 AM

Woody wanted people to sing the songs,he was not concerned like AP c Carter in making money out of copyright THE Original carter family made great music but AP Was probably the least talented og the 3, and was a bread head

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GerryM
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 03:27 PM

"whether Guthrie wrote them does not matter" So, Sandman, does that mean there was no point in your telling Tony K that Guthrie wrote them?

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: GUEST,saulgoldie
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 03:30 PM

"Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?"

Saul

Subject: RE: Songs of the New Deal and WPA
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 03:59 PM

so whether Guthrie wrote them does not matter,that is apparently the nature of trad music "
if you quote me, quote in full