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.]
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