Lyr Req: Oklahoma Hills (Jack & Woody Guthrie)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oklahoma Hills (Jack & Woody Guthrie)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 03:34 PM

Joe: I'll bet Arlo learned this song as a young lad, at an age when kids learn things by rote (although they sometimes mishear) and never consider subtleties like grammar. Then as he got older, he trusted his memory and never went back and checked his lyrics against the original. I think a lot of people who post lyrics at Mudcat do that!

Yes, I like "I feel like in those hills I still belong" better.

A whole slew of people have recorded this: Arlo Guthrie, Bob Wills, Chet Atkins, Country Joe McDonald, Ernest Tubb, Gene Autry, Hank Thompson, Ian Tyson, Jack Guthrie, Jim Reeves, Jimmy Wakely, Johnny Bond, Marvin Rainwater, Mary McCaslin, Moe Bandy, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, T. Texas Tyler, Tex Ritter, Tommy Collins, Vince Gill, and many others.

I wonder how many sang it Arlo's way?

Subject: ADD Version: Oklahoma Hills (Jack & Woody Guthrie)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 May 11 - 02:33 AM

OK, now here's my transcription of Arlo Guthrie's less-than-grammatical recording on the Tribute to Woody Guthrie CD:

OKLAHOMA HILLS
(Jack Guthrie and Woody Guthrie)

Many a month has come and gone
Since I've wandered from my home
In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born
Many a page my life has turned
Many lessons I have learned
And I feel like in those hills where I belong.

    CHORUS:
    'Way down yonder on the Indian nation
    Ridin' my pony on the reservation
    In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born
    'Way down yonder on the Indian nation
    A cowboy's life is my occupation
    In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born.

But as I sit here today
Many miles I am away
From the place I rode my pony through the draw
Where the oak and blackjack trees
Kiss the playful prairie breeze
And I feel like in those hills where I was born.

Now as I turn life a page
To the land of the great Osage
In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born
Where the black oil rolls and flows
And the snow-white cotton grows
And I feel like in those hills where I belong.

Copyright Jack and Woody Guthrie


Arlo's interpretation of these two lines seems a little fuzzy:

• And I feel like in those hills where I belong.
• And I feel like in those hills where I was born.

That's where I question his grammar...

---

I couldn't find the song in any of the Woody Guthrie songbooks I have, and I couldn't find a Woody Guthrie recording.

Subject: ADD Version: Oklahoma Hills (Jack & Woody Guthrie)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 May 11 - 02:10 AM

Following Dale's suggestion, I found the Jack Guthrie recording on Spotify, and it's terrific. I thought I'd post my transcription of the Jack Guthrie recording:

OKLAHOMA HILLS
(Jack Guthrie and Woody Guthrie)

Many months has come and gone
Since I wandered from my home
In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born
Many a page of life has turned
Many a lesson I have learned
Well, I feel like in those hills I still belong.

    CHORUS:
    'Way down yonder in the Indian nation
    I ride my pony on the reservation
    In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born
    Now, 'way down yonder in the Indian nation
    A cowboy's life is my occupation
    In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born.

But as I sit here today
Many miles I am away
From a place I rode my pony through the draw
While the oak and blackjack trees
Kiss the playful prairie breeze
In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born.

Now as I turn life a page
To the land of the great Osage
In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born
While the black oil, it rolls and flows
And the snow-white cotton grows
In those Oklahoma Hills where I was born.

Copyright Jack and Woody Guthrie


Note the quote above in the message from John in Kansas:

It has always been my impression that Woody wrote the words and Leon wrote the Music. - Wava Guthrie Blake.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oklahoma Hills (Woody Guthrie)
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 20 Nov 03 - 02:19 AM

Ah, Dick, but those lyrics predate the DT version by more than a year. Gene posted them in July of 1997 and the DT says October 1998 by AJS ~~ at the moment, I can't think who that is.

I wrote the following in a thread in 1999. I'll re-enter it here, since this is the active thread.

Leon Jerry Guthrie was born November 13, 1915 in Olive, Oklahoma. He was always Leon to his family, Oke (pronounced Oak) to his friends, but took the name Jack when he made his first recordings on October 16, 1944. The very first song he cut was Oklahoma Hills. Now I've heard a couple of different stories as to how he came into possession of the song. One version goes that he wanted the song, so Woody said he could have it. In fact, Woody often stated publicly, that anyone could have any song he wrote. In the other version, in about 1937, Woody wrote the rough draft of what was to become Oklahoma Hills. Jack took the song from a fake book that Woody had made, modified it, and smoothed it into the version we are familiar with today. They performed together frequently in these early years, so I would think it would be highly unlikely that Woody was unaware that Jack had done this, and was performing the song on a regular basis. In any case, it was not until after the song became a hit in 1945 that Woody claimed ownership. The dispute was resolved by attributing the song to both of them. As to the question of to who did what to the song, I'm not sure that has ever been made clear. Folk process in operation, I guess.

Jack Guthrie recorded only a small handful of wonderful songs, (available on Bear Family CD 15580) . He had contracted tuberculosis in the Army, and was too obsessed with the music business to take care of himself. He died on January 15, 1948, aged 32.

Information above from my own memory, various readings, and most specifically from the notes to the Bear Family CD by Guy Logsdon.

If you haven't heard Oklahoma Hills by Jack Guthrie, then you really haven't heard it. I first heard it on the jukebox in my Dad's tavern in 1945. I am sure that I would have pestered him constantly for nickels to play the song, but as it was very popular at the time, the patrons of the tavern kept me from provoking my father too much! It was and is one of my all time favorite songs.

Since I wrote that, more of the works of Jack Guthrie have been made available on Bear Family ~~ bet you can get them from Camsco!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oklahoma Hills (Woody Guthrie)
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 20 Nov 03 - 12:28 AM

Oklahoma Hills is in the Digital Tradition. It's a good place to start a search--saves typing, too.

Subject: Origins of: Oklahoma Hills
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Oct 01 - 10:56 PM


Oklahoma Hills is the song.
Written by Jack Guthrie and Woody Guthrie.
In DigiTrad Oklahoma Hills here.

Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy
Dorothy Horstman
Country Music Foundation Press, Nashville TN
Distributed by Vanderbilt University Press
Third Edition, 1966
ISBN 0-915608-19-7

Includes the lyric as in DigiTrad, with the note:

Leon (Jack) and I left Oklahoma when we were kids and went to Texas. He loved horses and rode rodeo until he was thrown from a horse and hurt his back. He and Woody teamed up and had a radio show together over KFVD in Los Angeles. In fact I think they used it as their theme song. Leon got a recording contract with Capitol Records and recorded it. He was overseas when it was published and released, and when he came back, Woody sued him for the money he had received. Woody let him know that the money didn't mean anything to him; he just wanted to get his break. They signed a contract, and Leon didn't get any more money until Woody had gotten as much as he did. There is a controversy over who wrote this song, and I really don't know why there should be. It has always been my impression that Woody wrote the words and Leon wrote the Music. - Wava Guthrie Blake.

I will post a note that this is answered in the "Unanswered Requests" thread

Requestor was only on mudcat for about one year (with this name), but may have another a.k.a.: others may still have an interest.

John

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hobo's Lullaby /Oklahoma Hills
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 06 Jun 01 - 10:57 AM

Elton Britt. Now there's a name. Thanks Crankee.

"Cowboy Jack" Guthrie's only hit, as well. Jack was Woody's cousin and died young....not before the lawsuit though. Woody apparently "gave" the song to his cuz, but when the bucks came in, thought better of it (or Marjorie did) and they got the copyright changed.

You can find an album of Cowboy Jack Guthrie if you try hard enough. He's typical of a lot of 40s "Western singers" and I quite like his version of the song.

Rick

Subject: Lyr Add: OKLAHOMA HILLS (Woody Guthrie)
From: CRANKY YANKEE
Date: 06 Jun 01 - 08:32 AM

OKLAHOMA HILLS(words and music by Woodrow Wilson Guthrie) Elton Britt's themesong.

Many a month has come and gone since I wandered from my home
In the Oklahoma hills where I was born
Many a page of life has turned, many lessons I have learned
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

(Chorus)
A-Way down yonder in the Indian Nations
I ride my pony on a reservation
In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born
A-Way down yonder in the Indian Nations
A cowboy's life is my occupation
In the Oklahoma Hills where I was born.

Now as I turn back each page to the land of the great Osage
In those dear old Okie hills where I was born
Where the Oak and blackjack trees
Kiss the playful tumbleweeds
It's where I want to be, where I belong

(repeat chorus)

regards
Jody Gibson

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Oklahoma Hills
From: Pene Azul
Date: 03 Jun 01 - 02:51 PM

Chords at Cowpie.

Jeff

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie's Oklahoma Hills - lyrics ?
From: Norma
Date: 03 Jul 97 - 04:01 PM

Thanks for the lyrics and the information. : ) I'm enjoying them already!

Subject: Lyr Add: OKLAHOMA HILLS (Woody Guthrie)
From: Gene
Date: 03 Jul 97 - 10:29 AM

OKLAHOMA HILLS
Words and music by Jack Guthrie and Woody Guthrie

Many months have come and gone
Since I wandered from my home
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born
Many a page of life has turned
Many lesson I have learned
Yet I feel like in those hills I still belong.

CHORUS: 'Way down yonder in the Indian nation
I rode my pony on the reservation
In the Oklahoma hills where I was born
'Way down yonder in the Indian nation
A cowboy's life is my occupation
In the Oklahoma hills where I born.

But as I sit here today
Many miles I am away
From the place I rode my pony through the draw
Where the oak and blackjack trees
Kiss the playful prairie breeze
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born. CHORUS

Now as I turn life a page
To the land of the great Osage
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born
Where the black oil rolls and flows
And the snow-white cotton grows
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born. CHORUS

Subject: RE: Woody Guthrie's Oklahoma Hills - lyrics ?
From: Gene
Date: 03 Jul 97 - 12:27 AM

You will find them and MORE at:

http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~davida/lyrics.html

Subject: Woody Guthrie's Oklahoma Hills - lyrics ?
From: Norma
Date: 02 Jul 97 - 10:55 PM

I'm looking for the lyrics to Woody Guthrie's song, Oklahoma Hills, or at least I think that's the name. It starts "Way down yonder in the Indian Nation, I'm gonna ride my pony on the reservation in the Oklahoma hills where I was born' HELP

Subject: RE: Since I wandered from my home - where from?
From: Bill
Date: 09 Dec 96 - 02:30 AM

Howdy,

There is a similar line in Oklahoma Hills (Way Down Yonder in the Indian Nation) which is a Woody Guthrie song (if my memory is correct) often performed by Arlo.

Subject: Since I wandered from my home - where from?
From: jaunti
Date: 09 Dec 96 - 01:55 AM

Does anyone know what song this line is from?

"It's been many months since I wandered from my home"

It may have been sung by Arlo Guthrie. Thanks