Do Re Mi - Woody Guthrie - 1940
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qCpFn1iIqk
Voilà une chanson d’actualité
[Verse 1]
Lots of folks back East, they say, is leavin’ home every day
Beatin’ the hot old dusty way to the California line
’Cross the desert sands they roll, gettin’ out of that old dust bowl
They think they’re goin’ to a sugar bowl, but here’s what they find
Now, the police at the port of entry say
“You’re number fourteen thousand for today”
[Chorus]
Oh, if you ain’t got the do re mi, folks
You ain’t got the do re mi
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas
Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
California is a garden of Eden
A paradise to live in or see
But believe it or not, you won’t find it so hot
If you ain’t got the do re mi
[Verse 2]
You want to buy you a home or a farm, that can’t deal nobody harm
Or take your vacation by the mountains or sea
Don’t swap your old cow for a car, you better stay right where you are
You better take this little tip from me
’Cause I look through the want ads every day
But the headlines on the papers always say
[Chorus]
If you ain’t got the do re mi, boys
You ain’t got the do re mi
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas
Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
California is a garden of Eden
A paradise to live in or see
But believe it or not, you won’t find it so hot
If you ain’t got the do re mi
▻https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Re_Mi_(Woody_Guthrie_song)
“Do Re Mi” is a folksong by American songwriter Woody Guthrie. The song deals with the experiences and reception of Dust Bowl migrants when they arrive in California. It is known for having two guitar parts, both recorded by Guthrie.
Background
Written by Woody Guthrie, the song is included on his 1940 folk album Dust Bowl Ballads. It takes the form of a warning to would-be migrants to stay where they are (places of origin mentioned include Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia and Tennessee). The argument is made on the basis that there are already too many migrants, and not enough money or work available to make the hardships and expense of the trip worthwhile.
The message of the song parallels a theme of John Steinbeck’s seminal novel The Grapes of Wrath, wherein the Joad family makes a dangerous, expensive trip from their home in Oklahoma to California. They encounter a fellow Dust Bowl migrant at a roadside rest-stop who tells them to turn back, echoing the cautionary tone of the song. He cites his own loss and misfortune (he mentions the trials of his dead wife and his underfed children ’moaning like pups’) as a warning to others to avoid the same fate. Continuing on in spite of this, the Joads arrive in California nearly penniless, and having buried the two oldest members of the family. There they find there is indeed not enough work or pay to make ends meet.
The song appeared on the album Dust Bowl Ballads and was later released on the compilation Bound for Glory. It is heavily referenced in AJJ’s song “Survival Song.”
“Do Re Mi” was covered by Cisco Houston, Ry Cooder on his self-titled debut album in 1971, by Nanci Griffith on her 1993 album Other Voices, Other Rooms (duet with Guy Clark), by Ani DiFranco on her 2000 EP Swing Set and on the Woody Guthrie tribute ’Til We Outnumber Em, by Dave Alvin on his live CD Interstate City, by Bob Dylan in The People Speak documentary in 2009, and by Dan Crary on the album Flatpicking Guitar.
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▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnBMAEA3AM