About this Item
Mimeographed illustrated pamphlet of 15 pages including the cover (8-1/2" x 10-3/4"), containing 10 of Guthrie's songs including this country's unofficial national anthem, "This Land Is Your Land." Using an original typed manuscript with drawings by the author, Guthrie mimeographed copies himself to give to friends and fans, often coloring the front cover by hand, as he did here, and also in this case INSCRIBING and SIGNING the cover: "To Joan Hamilton Woody Guthrie." Guthrie wrote "This Land is Your Land" in 1940 in reaction to Irving Berlin's song "God Bless America." According to the Library of Congress, "Guthrie originally entitled his song 'God Blessed America for Me,' a line repeated at the end of each verse. By the time he first recorded the song with Cisco Houston, in April 1944, he changed the lines to 'This land was made for you and me,' which invokes the title by which his song has been known ever since -- 'This Land Is Your Land.'" This pamphlet marks the first "public" printing of the song, though obviously in very small numbers. The other nine songs included are "Biggest Thing," "True Love," "Grand Coolee Dam," "Jackhammer John," "Talking Blues," "Ship in the Sky," " East Texas Red," "Bed on Your Floor," and "Hard Traveling," along with a four-page introduction by the author which begins: "In these ten songs you will hear a lot of music of a lot of races. Songs of every color. Every people loves and copies the songs and the music, the ideas, the customs, of all the other races. Songs like these soak into every wall, hall, factory, every hull of every ship, every hammer coming down on every anvil, every seed falling down into every row, every hand moving with a dust rag, a wheel, a lever, a dial, a handle, a button pushed…I have never heard a nation of people sing an editorial out of a newspaper. A man sings about the little things that help him or hurt his people and he sings of what has got to be done to fix this world like it ought to be." From a 2013 email to the previous owner, Woody's daughter, Nora Guthrie, stated the following: "My father made these mimeographed songbooks in April, 1945. He painted each one individually, to give to people. He had just returned from a trip with the Merchant Marines and was on shore leave for a few weeks. Because of the disruptions during the war years, he was trying to 'reignite' his career. However, Germany surrendered in May, 1945, and Woody was unexpectedly inducted into the army! He didn't have much time, so he packed most of the songbooks away. They stayed with the family for decades, and only a few were ever sent out. We have the bulk of them, about 60, in the Woody Guthrie archives. I hope you hold onto it, as it's a real, rare treasure." Indeed it is. We found no public records of a previous sale. An astounding American artifact. Some pages with very light printing due to the reproduction process; minor soiling. Near Fine in a Fine clamshell box.
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