Seminars in theatre; Johnny No Trump, part one

And I have you know and I have a. Communication Center at the University of Texas at Austin brings to our credit a series dedicated to the American poet wouldn't go through too many people with you as a symbol of the fighting spirit that organized the dunes like we did westward from the Dust Bowl and the globe the beauty usable life. This series has a picture been sold of Woody Guthrie music and is hard traveling. Mother died of Huntington's chorea progressive incurable nerve disease.

Woody died of this same disease on October 3rd 1067 in Creedmore hospital New York. Here Will Geer describes the onslaught of Woody's illness and he went down to the Army kept for the camps back came from or used to write me postcards mostly for literacy. And then began the onslaught of victims that happens to read a Terry begins to come out to you when you're in your 40s. Yes and you said you're just like that. But people say well everybody will be around here to this big mass meeting for you go up there you bring the start of this nervous disease. Even in hospital would he never cease to be interested in people here Malvina Reynolds. Composer of such songs as little boxes and what have they done to the rain

reminisces about her correspondence with Woody after he had been hospitalized. It was getting hard for him to write or even to. To be articulate. And yet his great old sense of humor. And his wonderful feeling for the people around him at the hospital is evident in these letters. But I had promised to send him some cookies and I got so busy and I could hear up we'll all of me a long letter about this that we had and then he had a footnote at that and. Cookie speak louder than words. So I took the time. And said to the cook he said he told me about how the. Nurses and the other patients the hospital enjoyed him and went into a long thing about women and how wonderful they are. They make cookies for people a free meal they take care of them in hospital from. A wonderful person terribly mis treated by their. By the kind

of life he had co-lead. And destroyed by this disease which are. Inherent. But. He's made a contribution to American culture that is hardly bar anyone out in 1965. The Berkeley Folk Festival closed with all the performers standing on stage together singing so long to a wildly appreciative audience. Woody spirit was very much there that day as it is in this recording of Solong done by the Weavers. Yes. Oh and I am I am I am

I am I am I am asking for you. You see. I am I am. Oh and I am I was shown was a and ran

from the front. But the French word of this text is suspect. I am found I am was. God was. Q What do songs have an enormous appeal today despite the fact that the majority of them were written more than 20 years ago and were written as topical songs a topical song is only as relevant as that day's headline. But there is a hard core of universal appeal and Woody songs that keep them alive. Pete Seeger put it this way.

You know you see when things go wrong it's awfully easy to get so mad that you blame everything. And not be able to. Remember that the job of the world is still to build and not to destroy. And. Woody had this ability that's why his songs like This Land Is Your Land are spreading across you get learnt by millions of schoolkids. I think it's wonderful that the wood is getting better known. During his conscious life time. He was always living hand to mouth. He really never knew where the next meal was coming from and his wife worked as a dance teacher in Brooklyn. It still doesn't matter fact. But now his songs are being published being recorded bringing in royalties and his kids getting good education. The legends around Woody multiplied continuously while he was in hospital and his

death will no doubt give them further impetus. He was once given a supply of tape and told to record a song whenever you felt the spirit move him. He filled real after real at an incredible rate. The story goes that the tapes were then stored in a cupboard of Folkways Records and forgotten years later. The cupboard was cleaned out and the tapes discovered. Here is one of the songs from those tapes sung by The New World Singers. And the business saying it's only a dream and some day that customer a. Customer A He's only a

dream and some had a good job a good job it's only sleep sleep dream and some paycheck checks not. It's only a dream a dream. President's gonna come. Well. It ends not only sleep sleep dreaming. It's just about half sleep sleep dreaming of new worlds going to a new world.

It's not even slave. It's a way to end the way for you and me you and me. We're both just pretend or weighed in at a way to big business saying it's only us but the Freemans customer. Melvina Reynolds says that people are always coming up with yet another song what he had scribbled or put down on tape. It's a treasure she said. That will be available for a long long time and the songs will be sung by many many people here

are flat and Scruggs singing our theme song. And in a hard

land they're down days and they are down. Oh I know it. And to see a

fine it may work and you know it's hard. I am. During his lifetime when he created a river of words and music. There are two books by Woody that one can find almost anywhere. And other bits and pieces that crop up in unexpected places. His two books are called Bound for Glory which is his autobiography and Born to Win which is a collection of letters poetry and small essays. I would urge you to look for both of these books and make your own acquaintance with this man. You have been listening to hard travelling series devoted to the life

and music. I hope Woody Guthrie written and narrated by Judith Adams produced by Job walked me for communications center the University of Texas at Austin. This is NPR National Educational Radio Network.