Woody Guthrie’s Dream

Woody Guthrie’s Dream
by Si Kahn & Tom Chapin
© Joe Hill Music & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

I dreamt I was at the crossroad,
Harsh wind at my back
Thought I saw the man himself
Come ramblin' down the track
Hard times at his shoulders,
A worn case in his hand
Woody Guthrie stopped and said to me,
"I just don't understand."

He said "I have seen the worst of times,
Folks scratching in the dirt.
Mile-long unemployment lines,
Millions out of work.
All those hungry women,
All those desperate men
I guess history runs in circles
'Cause it's coming 'round again."

In the middle of the night
I lay there in between
Half asleep and half awake,
Caught up in Woody’s dream.
In the middle of the night
I found out what it means
To hitch a ride on Woody Guthrie’s dream.

When I asked him what he dreamed about
He shook his head and smiled.
“A decent job for everyone,
A home for every child
Food for every family, a roof for every head
Ain’t that what you dream about?”
He looked at me and said.
“Go work and march together,
Demanding what you need
Speak the truth to power
And call out corporate greed
Sing the story of the underdog,
Over-worked and under-paid
Stand up proud, shout out loud,
Clear and unafraid.”

“When they’re fracking in your backyard
And poisoning your stream,
And in some ancient forest
You can hear a chainsaw scream
When fire and flood and hurricane
Are tearing at the seams
Don’t despair,” Old Woody said,
“Get up and live your dreams”

I dreamt I was at the crossroad
And as Woody turned to go
He said "I got no place in this old world now,
It's your rodeo
Go right some wrong, carry on,
Like a ghost in the machine,
Good luck, farewell, give 'em hell,
I'll see you in your dreams.”

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Hold Our Ground CD.

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