TAC Family Forums

Share your wins, get unstuck, or see how others use the TAC Method to create a fulfilling guitar life!

Tony’s Acoustic Challenge – The New Way to Learn Guitar Family Forums Play for Us! Another Woody Guthrie Weekend- VOM offering

  • Another Woody Guthrie Weekend- VOM offering

    Posted by AttyTJ on July 5, 2021 at 12:59 pm

    This last weekend, the VOM options gave us holiday celebrations and a “Let’s all hav fun playing a classic.” “Wayfaring Stranger” was really fun, but I also offered other songs. I am 10/12 ths and 7 months through my “Learn Woody Guthrie Songs” pledge. More to come.

    About this week’s offereings:

    For SNL VOM, instead of a Holiday song, I played “The Sinking of the Reuben James,” that Guthrie wrote to protest war and facism. When he and Pete Seeger performed it, first, they were castigated in the Press for their politics and attempting to usurp the music of good, loyal Americans. I offered it because it is a telling of the loss of the first U.S. warship in WWII, even though it happened in October of 1941 during “Lend Lease” as the US was partially protecting the convoys headed to assist our allies.

    https://soundcloud.com/user-903419652/tj-snl-vom-070321-reuben-james

    Sunday, for the VwA, i offered a “children’s'” song Guthrie wrote and performed in 1944. Imagine what children singing about airplanes during wartime was like in this Country. “My Daddy Flies that Ship in the Sky.”

    https://soundcloud.com/user-903419652/t-j-vwa-070421-ship-in-the-sky

    Guthrie had to stop performing in 1948 due to Huntington’s Disease, and in his writing and performing career, many covers of old folk songs, labor protest songs, songs supporting the common man (and worker), anti-facism (and frequently not pro large corporations) and children’s’ songs were part of what he gave us.

    AttyTJ replied 3 years, 7 months ago 4 Members · 6 Replies
  • 6 Replies
  • albert_d

    Member
    July 10, 2021 at 6:23 am

    I learned Pete Seger’s cover of this song over Wildwood Flower back in college and had forgotten about it. Thanks.. I’ll refresh this and put it back in the song list. Ruben James was a sailor who was medaled back in the Barbary Coast wars. They named the ship after him and later after the sinking was recommissioned. It was the rescue vessel named in the Sean Connery film, Hunt for Red October. Makes for good chatter for the audience when warming up to play the song. Thanks for sharing.

    • AttyTJ

      Member
      July 11, 2021 at 9:00 am

      All correct @albert_d, and our friend in TAC @branman served on a sister ship when he was in the Navy. So many great songs. Oh, and, by the way, “Wildwood Flower” although not Woody’s is on my list, too, as it is an exceptionally beautiful song.

  • Guerra6007

    Member
    July 12, 2021 at 1:12 pm

    Enjoyed your rendition of this Woody Guthrie song. Never heard it before, but I

    bought a Woody Guthrie songbook years ago and always enjoy Deportee, Do Re Mi,

    This Land is Your Land, etc. Thanks.

    • AttyTJ

      Member
      July 14, 2021 at 6:37 am

      thanks, and great songs. I enjoy Deportee as well

  • CHEzjeje

    Member
    July 15, 2021 at 8:45 am

    Well done. Thanks for all the history around it too, really cool.

    • AttyTJ

      Member
      July 15, 2021 at 11:08 am

      You are welcome.

Log in to reply.