Song 9 "Do Re Mi"

This song is sang by Ani DiFranco, but it was written originally by Woody Guthrie.




When it was written.
1940.

What it is about.
This song is about people leaving the dust bowl for California , looking for better fortune. However, the singer is telling them that if they "ain't got the do re mi, folks, you ain't got the do re mi. Why you better get back to beautiful Texas, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee." In other words, there weren't enough jobs available in California for all of these migrants. They would be much better off just staying where they were than making the trip for nothing.

How the story is told.
It is a little but vague. For instance "Do Re Mi" is never really explained, although one can assume that it refers to something like good fortune (a job and money).


My thoughts.
I thought that this song was different from the baginning of the CD because most of those songs were about war. It was a welcome break. There was just something catchy about the smoothness of the song.

What we can learn.

This period in American history was an extremely tough time. Life in the dust bowl was getting so bad that people just left their homes and their community to look for a job that probably wouldnt be there in California. It was full of desperate, displaced Americans, and the hard times continued.