Pastures of Plenty
Encyclopedia
"Pastures of Plenty" is a 1941 composition by Woody Guthrie
. Describing the travails and dignity of migrant worker
s in North America, it is evocative of the world described in John Steinbeck
's The Grapes of Wrath
. The tune is based on the ballad "Pretty Polly
," a traditional English-language folk song from the British Isles that was also well known in the Appalachian region of North America.
.
The line "we come with the dust and we go with the wind" reappears as "that come with the dust and are gone with the wind" in Bob Dylan
's Song to Woody
.
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. Describing the travails and dignity of migrant worker
Migrant worker
The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...
s in North America, it is evocative of the world described in John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962....
. The tune is based on the ballad "Pretty Polly
Pretty Polly (ballad)
"Pretty Polly", "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" is a traditional English-language folk song found in the British Isles, Canada, and the Appalachian region of North America, among other places....
," a traditional English-language folk song from the British Isles that was also well known in the Appalachian region of North America.
Recorded Versions
- Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
- Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
- Jesse Colin YoungJesse Colin YoungJesse Colin Young is an American singer / songwriter / folksinger and a founding member of the group The Youngbloods.-Early life:...
- Peter TevisPeter TevisPeter Tevis , was an American folk singer best remembered for his work on the soundtracks of composer Ennio Morricone....
- Peter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
- Dave Van RonkDave Van RonkDave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
(on Just Dave Van RonkJust Dave Van RonkJust Dave Van Ronk is a 1964 album by folk/blues singer Dave Van Ronk. It has not been released on CD.-History:It is probably this arrangement of "House Of The Risin' Sun" that was developed by Dave Van Ronk that Bob Dylan — who was a close friend of Van Ronk's at the time — used on his 1962 debut...
) - Ramblin' Jack Elliot
- Flatt and Scruggs
- Will GeerWill GeerWill Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
- Kingston Trio
- Country Joe MacDonald
- OdettaOdettaOdetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
- The AlarmThe AlarmThe Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
- Solas
- Alison Krauss & Union Station
- Paul KellyPaul Kelly (musician)Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
- Lila DownsLila DownsLila Downs is a Mexican singer-songwriter. She performs her own compositions as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music...
- Cisco HoustonCisco HoustonGilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together....
Popular culture
The phrase is used in a different context in the song Talking Vietnam Pot-Luck Blues by Tom PaxtonTom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
.
The line "we come with the dust and we go with the wind" reappears as "that come with the dust and are gone with the wind" in Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's Song to Woody
Song to Woody
"Song to Woody" is one of the first ever songs written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on his eponymous debut album Bob Dylan in 1962. The song conveys Dylan's appreciation of folk legend Woody Guthrie. The tune is based on Guthrie's song "1913 Massacre"...
.