Songwriting lessons of Woody Guthrie

Like pretty much anyone who picks an acoustic guitar and sings, I’ve always known about Woody Guthrie—and songs like the Dust Bowl ballads “Do Re Mi” and “I Ain’t Got No Home,” the migrant workers’ tales “Pastures of Plenty” and “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),” the kids’ songs “Riding in My Car” and “All Work Together,” and of course the folk national anthem “This Land Is Your Land.”

But in 2012, I met Woody in an entirely new way, thanks to an immersion in the Woody Guthrie Archives (then in the Hudson Valley, since relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma).

What I found scattered through his journals, letters, and assorted writings was a body of instruction and advice for songwriters—including a manuscript titled “How to Make Up a Balladsong and Get Away with It.”

So I combed through all this material and put together this story for Acoustic Guitar that in many ways changed how I think about songwriting. Thanks, Woody.