Guthrie

The song Tom Joed by Woody Guthrie is about a young mans sad adventures in the dust bowl and depression hit west. It deals with family, the law, samaratinism and even religion. The song starts off with Joed getting out of prison on a homicide charge. “There he got his parole.” The first man he meets is not kind, and somewhat frightened of him, hinting at the sad future he has in front of himself. He finds his family living in poverty, and they decide to head west. But his grandfather refused to leave; “I’m staying with the farm till I die.” He does the first casualty of their desperate situation. His grandma dies soon after. In California they come across a “promises land”, appearing fertile and pleasant. Yet there hardships are brought upon them as well, not by the earth, but by humans. This signifies that cruelty is universal, and knows no boundaries. Even the good Preacher Casey is sent to prison and later killed. Clearly, there is no god in this land. This is the last straw for Joed, for he leaves. He goes off to fight for good in a land of evil. “Wherever men are fighting for their rights, that’s where Im gonna be, Ma.” He has had virtually everything taken form him, and so he goes off to fight those who have done it, and aide their other victims.