Do you think there are some folks out there who read these Woody Guthrie lyrics or hear the song that Jeff Tweedy and Wilco put together w/ these unrecorded Woddy Guthrie words and get upset, pissed, elevated blood pressure and red faced?

 

And then again some folks who read these words are humbled by chills from the images painted and brought to life by the understanding and deep rushing river passion and compassion these words manifest - The truth of these words - The truth that man committed sin against man in the name of God, in the name of family, tradition and southern culture -

 

And now it is time to rebuild these uprooted communities that were built on false pretenses - values and norms - rebuild w/ out the old rusted chain links that had echoed and haunted these streets and old cotton fields, plantations, holding cells and jails.

 

It's time to build a community on just and solid foundations, principles and equal opportunity for all. If not, it ain't worth rebuilding.

 

Feed of Man If you beat up, you butcher, and you bleed a man You bang up and badger and blood-let a man And then I come along On the feet of man And halfway laugh and cry About the meat of man And I do what I can To bale string and tie Some ballad truths Up and cured out For the feed of man Folks try to tell me That it's on God's orders That you bleed your man It's on God's good word that you Bleed your man On God's plan print That you dead a man Or spit and curse and whip your man I say I'll help you squeeze and fix yourself up a A new kind of God of some kind One that tells you Fertilize and multiply One that tells you Outsow and outblow Outplant and outgrow Outdo, and outrun, and outclimb, and outspread Every other tree and bush And brushy fruits and flower petals Outfruit them all For the feed of man Outstalk and outhunt and outthink For God's own sweet sake, outthink! Outthink! Outthink the fruits Outgrow these animal kinds and shapes of man It you miss and go down Your dust will turn up on that long hot job Once more again To help in the feeding and the seed of man And not in the bleeding and the end of man

found on: Mermaid Avenue Volume 2 words: Woody Guthrie debuted/last played: performance history back to the Wilco plan print archive