Folksinger and songwriter Woody Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912 in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma. In honor of his birthday, Chimesfreedom will consider some of the songs and life events of this man who looms large in both the American songbook and in our concepts of a period of American history.
Guthrie is a part of our past, but also our present and future, as his spirit lives on in many musicians, including the young disciple he met before he died, Bob Dylan. Guthrie’s songs reflect both the American spirit and the American struggles of his time, so it seems appropriate that we celebrate his life this year as the world has been struggling through economic hard times. But he is always relevant, as a large number of people suffer even when times are “good.”
“So Long It’s Been Good to Know You”
We start with one of Guthrie’s earliest songs, “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You.” According to Woody Guthrie: A Life, by Joe Klein, Guthrie wrote the song not long after dust storms hit Guthrie’s home in Pampa, Texas in spring 1935 (“In a month called April, a county called Gray”).
Out of the experience, Guthrie, who recently became a father, wrote the song. Originally, he called the song “Dusty Old Dust” and would sing in the local saloons.
Rob Tepper does this video of “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You” using his best Woody Guthrie imitation showing what a Woody Guthrie video might look like had they had videos back in Guthrie’s days. Tepper is a talented actor who does a one-man show portraying Woody Guthrie, and he appeared in the short film Been Good To Know Yuh – a Woody Guthrie Story. Check out his video of the song.
Inspirations for the Song
Guthrie took the melody for “Dusty Old Dust” from Carson Robison’s “Ballad of Billy the Kid.” But the chorus was Guthrie’s original work. Below is Marty Robbins singing “Ballad of Billy the Kid.”
When Guthrie wrote “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You,” Guthrie was still a young man in his early 20’s yet to do most of his travels. Despite his youth, his song shows a skill in using a happy-sounding song to express subtle anger.
Guthrie remembered local townspeople who raised prices to capitalize on the natural disaster. And he recalled the response of Preacher McKenzie, who “could not read a word of his text,/An’ he folded his specs, an’ he took up collection.”
Recordings
Years after Guthrie left Texas and ended up in New York City, he recorded the song for an album, Dust Bowl Ballads.
Later, Guthrie wrote another version of the song specifically about World War II. This other version included the lyrics, “So it won’t be long till the fascists are gone/ And all of their likes are finished and done.” Here is Guthrie singing the WWII version of the song.
As is the case with many of Guthrie’s songs, “So Long” seems like a tune I have known since birth. So I cannot remember when I first heard it. It just always was there.
Like many people, my introduction to “So Long” probably came through the Weavers, who polished up the song with some harmonies. I believe this video of the group, including Pete Seeger, is from a B-movie musical, Disc Jockey (1951), (Video begins at start of song)
So long, but only for now.
What’s your favorite version of “So Long”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
[Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Rob Tepper is the same Robert Tepper who sang the theme song from Rocky IV. Thanks to Julian Tepper for the correction.]
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)
Music I heard as a child in back of my mom’s parents home in Lynwood, PA in the summers of 46 or 47 when I lived w/them to escape the poli0 epidemic at home in Philly, PA.
The adults used to go out and congreate at the newly installed childrens swings and the like in back of the K-8 school.
They were w/minor exceptions non english speakers being first wave immigrants from Lithuania, Poland. Ukraine and etc. Basically all the societies that were excluded from coming by the 1920’s immigration Laws.
At age 73 I still remember my mom’s mom and her second husband going out probablly for the first time to swings and singing along in a language she never learned to communicate and in a song/language she did not understand.
God bless Woody. His songs will be mine till hell freeze over
Al, What a great story about what Guthrie’s music means to you. Thanks for sharing.
Regarding, “Rob Tepper does this video of “So Long It’s Been Good to Know You” using his best Woody Guthrie imitation, which is quite different from his 1980s look when he sang the theme song from Rocky IV.”
First, Rob did imitate Woody. Rob is a wonderful actor who fell in love with Woody and his story. He found and invaded Woody’s spirit, taught himself how to play the guitar, co-wrote and starred in a one-man play about Woody (next performance in Birmingham, AL in April, and co-wrote and starred in a short movie about Woody’s last meeting with Cisco Houston who passed away shortly afterward.
When Rob recently sang with Pete Seeger, a friend of Pete’s asked him if Rob reminded him of Woody. Pete’s reply? “Rob is Woody.”
That said, Rob is more than Woody. You can check in out at IMDB.com.
Second, Rob Tepper is not Robert Tepper, whose “No Way Out” preceded Rob’s Woody work by about 23 years. It is no wonder, then, that Rob’s look is so different from Robert’s.
Julian Tepper
Placitas, NM/Bethesda, MD
In a position to know.
I meant to type “First, did not imitate Woody.”
Sorry.
Julian Tepper
Julian, thanks for the correction about Rob Tepper. I have corrected the story and added links to more information about his one-man Woody Guthrie show and the film. And by using the word “imitate,” I did not mean to imply there was anything wrong about the excellent video, just that one person was portraying another person as actors do. I very much like the video and that is why I posted it here, as this blog is devoted mainly to posting things I like so other people may discover them too.
Speaking of discovering, there is also a Facebook page for Rob Tepper’s show about Guthrie, When the Curfew Blows.
Thanks for the comment!