"The Seventh Season of the Ukulele" contest: WOODY WEEK

Yeah he is known over the pond :) even though i have only discovered him through Eugine :) quite a few people at my uke club know and love woody, ive got 2 tunes im busy practicing not sure which one to go with just yet, but will defo be entering :)
 
Thanks Jon for picking up the ball and running with it. I'm gonna try and work something up for this week if my work schedule allows it.

But I gotta tell you, this week's theme is bugging me. Nothing wrong with Woody Guthrie, mind you, it's just me. See, I was born and raised in East Tennessee, I lived in Nashville for 15 years and I've played guitar for almost 35 years. So this three chord folk stuff is old hat to me on guitar. But I've never really tried it on uke. I've never needed to. If I want to play this style of music I just grab the guitar. So I'm just not sure how to do adapt it to uke.

Hopefully I'll have time to figure it out before Sunday.
 
Thanks Jon for picking up the ball and running with it. I'm gonna try and work something up for this week if my work schedule allows it.

But I gotta tell you, this week's theme is bugging me. Nothing wrong with Woody Guthrie, mind you, it's just me. See, I was born and raised in East Tennessee, I lived in Nashville for 15 years and I've played guitar for almost 35 years. So this three chord folk stuff is old hat to me on guitar. But I've never really tried it on uke. I've never needed to. If I want to play this style of music I just grab the guitar. So I'm just not sure how to do adapt it to uke.

Hopefully I'll have time to figure it out before Sunday.

you know J-Peg, in that sense you and me are exactly the same.

I learnt to play guitar 20 years back on this kind of stuff and just kept playing it my whole life!!! And yeah, what you talk about with the uke was a difficulty I had...the exact same one ...how do you make a 2-3-4 chord strummed mid-tempo folk song sound interesting on a ukulele? I battled with it for a year or more when I first started learning to play the ukulele.

My big breakthrough came a couple of years back when I started working how to find the melody line and work out a way to use it somehow in the performance. When that happens, these 2 and 3 chord strumathons have so much more colour.

But hey brother, the lyricism in Woody's stuff is of such a high order, I think that it's perfectly fine to play many of his songs with a focus on the words over and above the melody. A lot of his material is didactic and we're meant to hear his voice, so just keep strummin man and sing it like your life depends on it, that's all Woody really used to do anyway... :)
 
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also, as for getting that 'folky' rhythm, I tend to just go thumb-strum V^-thumb-strumV^... so you get that boom-chicka-boom-chicka kinda thing happening (usually alternating the thumb pluck between the C and G strings)

man does that even make sense or am I overdue for my medication again??? :p
 
Good news folkies. Just heard back from UKISOCIETY and he's gonna get in the guest judge chair for the week and come along for the ride with us. AWESOME!!!!!!! Thanks Alan! :)
 
I'm so glad this is happening! Thanks Jon for getting us started with a great theme. I think I found my song and hoping I have the time to record it.
Food for thought; maybe for a future week somebody could do a "dedicate a Disney song to Christian" week. ;)
 
I ain't got no home in this world any mo'

Woody Guthrie song with a tune he borrowed from the
Carter Family and a chorus which I borrowed from the
Incredible String Band.



This world is not my home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqRpyG0W96k


I ain't got no home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12EvtfwDCM4


Ducks on pond (last two verses)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90jFKaVDP2k


Surprise surprise THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME was written by (Albert E. Brumley) in 1937.
Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905. Pre-Dustbowl Oklahoma was
primarily made up of sparse agricultural communities; Brumley's family was no different.
He spent much of his early life chopping and picking cotton on his family's farm.
Same old territory as Woody Guthrie.


Everybody borrows from everybody else.


Though the themes of the songs are quite different. Diametrically opposed in fact, since one
is spiritual while the other is temporal. Given that Guthrie was heavily involved with the labour
movement, he had a keen eye for the injustices that befell the poor and downtrodden.
The evictions and farm seizures of the depression years made many people homeless,
and they left the hell of the dust-bowl for the promised land of California.


Famine and poverty always sees the movement of people across borders.
It is in human nature to want a better life, but somebody will always be around to
build a wall, be it political, or concrete to stop the influx of desperate people.


Guthrie wanted to break down the walls.
 
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Woody Guthrie song with a tune he borrowed from the
Carter Family and a chorus which I borrowed from the
Incredible String Band.



This world is not my home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqRpyG0W96k


I ain't got no home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12EvtfwDCM4


Ducks on pond (last two verses)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90jFKaVDP2k


Surprise surprise THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME was written by (Albert E. Brumley) in 1937.
Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905. Pre-Dustbowl Oklahoma was
primarily made up of sparse agricultural communities; Brumley's family was no different.
He spent much of his early life chopping and picking cotton on his family's farm.
Same old territory as Woody Guthrie.


Everybody borrows from everybody else.


Though the themes of the songs are quite different. Diametrically opposed in fact, since one
is spiritual while the other is temporal. Given that Guthrie was heavily involved with the labour
movement, he had a keen eye for the injustices that befell the poor and downtrodden.
The evictions and farm seizures of the depression years made many people homeless,
and they left the hell of the dust-bowl for the promised land of California.


Famine and poverty always sees the movement of people across borders.
It is in human nature to want a better life, but somebody will always be around to
build a wall, be it political, or concrete to stop the influx of desperate people.


Guthrie wanted to break down the walls.


Great, haunting performance. Thanks, Rob!
 
A friend asked me to sing this at her wedding later this spring...



In Guthrie's spirit, let's continue to sing truth to power for the next hundred years, or until we're simply singing the truth, whichever comes first.

God's Promise

I didn't promise you skies painted blue
Not all colored flowers all your days through
I didn't promise you, sun with no rain
Joys without sorrows, peace without pain.

All that I promise is strength for this day,
Rest for my worker, and light on your way.
I give you truth when you need it, my help from above,
Undying friendship, my unfailing love.

I never did promise you crowns without trials,
Food with no hard sweat, your tears without smiles,
Hot sunny days without cold wintry snows,
No vict'ry without fightin', no laughs without woes.

All that I promise is strength for this day,
Rest for my, worker, my light on your way,
I give you truth when you need it, my help from above,
Undying friendship, my unfailing love.

I sure didn't say I'd give you heaven on earth,
A life with no labor no struggles no deaths,
No earthquakes no dryspells, no fire flames no droughts,
No slaving no hungers, no blizzards no blights.

All that I promise is strength for this day,
Rest for my worker, my light on your way,
I give you truth when you need it, my help from above,
Undying friendship, my unfailing love.

I promise you power, this minute this hour,
The power you need when you fall down to bleed,
I give you my peace, and my strength to pull home
My love for all races all creeds and all kinds.

My flavors my saviors my creeds of all kinds,
My love for my saviors, all colors all kinds,
My love for my races all creeders all kinds,
My saviors my flavors my dancers all kinds,
My dancers my prancers my singers all kinds,
My flavors my saviors my dancers all kinds.
 
In Guthrie's spirit, let's continue to sing truth to power for the next hundred years, or until we're simply singing the truth, whichever comes first.
.

having a rough day today and realy need to hear this lovely song and beautiful performance of it . thanks for posting it. aloha
 
This ain't gonna win no prize but it sure was fun. Here's my kids and I doing Woodie Guthrie's All Work Together. I've never heard this song so I just used a chord progression from another family favorite and away we went! Thanks for this great challenge Jon. I was slightly familiar with Woodie's songs but I had no idea that a lot of songs I knew were his. I also discovered more wonderful tunes I've never heard. I was hoping to get a chance to work on Hobo's Lullaby but I'm out of time and out of town tomorrow. Enjoy!
 
I was hoping to get a chance to work on Hobo's Lullaby but I'm out of time and out of town tomorrow. Enjoy!
Around here Hobo's Lullaby is the surefire Marlin Perkins tranquilizer dart gun go-to-sleep song for my 5 year old. I highly recommend it!
 
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wonderful entries so far gang....keep em comin, plenty of time left!!!

except where's Christiano???? Now you're finally let off the judges leash we're expecting something special brus.... :p
 
news flash! Prize update!!!!

Cliff Edwards compilation CD
Woody Guthrie compilation CD
original "Essential Strums for the Ukulele" DVD, Ralph Shaw
kazoo with trumpet
2 'Uke can change the world' stickers
2 felt picks
eugene CD of early jazz era tunes

BIG Bickies!!!!! :eek:
 
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