It's a folk singer's job to comfort disturbed people and to disturb comfortable people
Woody GuthrieRead
I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim too ugly or too this or too that.
Interpretation
This quote expresses disdain for music that promotes negative self-image and discouragement.
Woody Guthrie articulates a strong dislike for songs that contribute to feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness. He believes that certain songs unfairly target individuals’ insecurities related to age, weight, appearance, and worthiness, reinforcing negative self-perceptions rather than uplifting or empowering them.
In practice
This quote can be shared during discussions on music therapy.
It's a folk singer's job to comfort disturbed people and to disturb comfortable people
A folk song is what's wrong and how to fix it or it could be _x000D_ who's hungry and where their mouth is or _x000D_ who's out of work and where the job is or _x000D_ who's broke and where the money is or _x000D_ who's carrying a gun and where the peace is.
The world is filled with people who are no longer needed -- and who try to make slaves of all of us -- and they have their music and we have ours.
Nobody living can ever stop me. As I go walking my freedom highway. Nobody living can make me turn back. This land was made for you and me.
It's round the world I've traveled; it's round the world I've roamed; but I've yet to see an outlaw drive a family from its home
Do Re Mi_x000D_ California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see,_x000D_ But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot_x000D_ If you ain't got the do re mi
To this day, if I ever meet grownups who play ukulele, I love 'em.
I think they saw me as something like a deliverer, a way out. My means of expression, my music, was a way in which a lot of people wished they could express themselves and couldn't.
I started speaking about what I was dealing with through my music, and 4 million women responded and said, 'Us too, Mary.' And I didn't know that everyone was hurting like I was hurting. I had no idea.
As for my stuff, I'm just doing guest verses for other people's records. I try to stay recording, because if I don't, I get rusty.
I only hope that one day, America will recognize what the rest of the world already has known, that our indigenous music - gospel, blues, jazz and R&B - is the heart and soul of all popular music; and that we cannot afford to let this legacy slip into obscurity, I'm telling you.
They gave their money, and they gave their screams. But the Beatles kind of gave their nervous systems. They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did, and then blamed it on us.
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