Well, I hate to bring politics into the world of
music, but I would say Woody Guthrie is not a country
singer because he emulates a far left mentality of
workers' rights and union avocation...and the Okie
migrants looked to him as a sort of hero to their plight.

Also, his style of playing and singing seems more like
folk music to me than any other genre. Although his
accent and guitar techniques could be compared to many
country singers/players, it was the way he sang his
lyrics and the meaning behind them that strike me as
folk. In hindsight, after hearing the styles of singers
such as Bob Dylan (who's style takes after Woody almost
exactly), it seems clear that Guthrie was a folk song
pioneer.

This is not to say that all country singers are right-wing
or conservative, or that country music celebrated the
company men over the small general laborers. However,
country music lyrics and culture (at least today) have
become associated with the traditional, conservative outlook.

This might be an interesting thread to explore...does anyone
know of books that have looked at the conservativism in
country music?

The fact that Guthrie moved to New York City (and loved the
place and people so much) and became so involved with
grassroots social movements...he painted himself with that
"social brush," to the point that I (and perhaps many others)
think of him as a folk singer rather than a country singer, and
a hero to the working class "salt of the earth" rather than a
cowboy outlaw/bandit.

DL

David Leventhal, MA student
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Humanities & Social
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