Happy Birthday, Woody Guthrie

I'd like to walk with you down
the backroads of our town
I'd like to sing with you to the men
huddled in the shadow of the mission.

I'd like to sit with you as
you listen to people's stories
then turn 'em into song.

I'd like to hear your song
take fear hostage,
capture hate, and
send injustice into exile.

I'd like to walk the blue highways
and unionize the WalMart employees.

I'd like to go with you to California, New Mexico,
New York, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma.
I'd like to see the sparkling sands
standing next to you.

I'd like to sing your prophecy on the corner,
collect the spare change,
then have lunch with a kind-hearted woman.

I like it that you were born
when prisons were smashed in France.
You were always about
smashing prisons.


Official Woody Guthrie Website
Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (July 13-17, 2005)