Tom Russell has always been one of those artists who rewards repeat listens. The first time I heard this song, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It seemed to wander a little, and I found myself wondering where it was going. Then it clicked. That’s the beauty of Russell’s writing. He doesn’t always give you a catchy chorus or an obvious hook. Instead, he invites you into a story and lets it unfold at its own pace. If you like songs that make you think, and maybe send you looking up a little history afterward, it is well worth your time.
Tom Russell has always had a gift for writing songs that blur the line between history and storytelling. Whether he’s singing about the American West, Mexico, or forgotten characters from the past, his songs often feel like short stories set to music. This one is no different. At first listen, it may leave you wondering where it’s headed, but stick with it. Like many of Russell’s best songs, it slowly unfolds into something memorable.
The song first appeared on Tom Russell’s 2005 concept album Hotwalker, the middle chapter of a trilogy that began with The Man From God Knows Where (1999) and concluded ten years later with The Rose of Roscrae (2015). The album tells a story that stretches across generations and the American frontier, mixing fictional characters with real historical figures.
With this song, Russell tips his hat to Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie), weaving history into the lives of ordinary people. It’s a style Russell has made his own over the years. Rather than simply retelling history, he puts listeners right in the middle of it. I will admit, when I saw the title, I thought it was about President Woodrow Wilson.
Musically, the song has the easy, conversational feel that suits Russell perfectly. He has never needed big production to hold your attention. His strength has always been his writing and the way he paints scenes with simple details. That’s one reason so many songwriters admire him. He trusts the story to carry the song, and more often than not, it does.
Woodrow
When people twist your words, Woodrow
Oh, they’ll twist at every whim
It’s thugs that run the unions now
And use your songs like hymns
Once your music danced on women’s thighs
In the arch of a hobo’s brow
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
Ah, the trains leave every morning
Some go east and some go west
And the clacking of the iron
Is the sound you loved the best
It’s the great escape from railroad bulls
And the Coney Island girls
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we’ve done
To your brown-eyed boy with curls
Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
Ah, those boxcars full of Chinese junk
The caboose has been junk piled
And we’re all buying groceries now
From men with crooked smiles
You were a drunken, wild misogynoir
And your politics were crude
As you sat home writing nursery rhymes
And drawing women nude
And all those politicians’ breath stink bad
Be they left or be they right
And the ones who play with rhetoric
Are not the ones who fight
Don’t go comin’ ’round here, Woodrow
They’ll stretch you from a rope, yeah
And your corpse won’t ever find a bar
Where a man can drink and smoke
Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
Did you hear the screen door slam, Mom?
Woodrow’s gone again
He’s writing obscene letters now
And the feds might bring him in
But every song he ever wrote
Is hangin’ on the breeze
With the laundry in the Guthrie yard
Full of Huntington’s disease
So, Woodrow, rest in peace, old pal
There ain’t nothin’ for you here
We’re in the scrub oak country now
The land of dread and fear
And Whitey’s in the woodpile
And the writing’s on the wall
But your ring of truth still echoes down
The gray stone clinic halls
Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
So here’s to all outsiders
All the ones who could not fit
The troubadour, the prisoners
The drunken Indian
Ah, the circus freaks, the wounded lovers
We’ll make it through somehow
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, we are ridin’ blind
With your brown-eyed baby now
Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
Scream the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
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Woodrow, as Woodrow Wilson, was my first thought as well when I saw the title. Guthrie has always been Woody Guthrie to me rather than Woodrow Guthrie. It also hadn’t registered his full name birth name was Woodrow Wilson Guthrie!
Tom Russell didn’t ring a bell. I like the story-telling aspect of the song. I love the harmony vocals, which according to credits listed by my streaming music provider were sung by Gretchen Peters – no idea who she is but that lady can sing, plus her vocals nicely blend with Russell’s.
It caught my ear after a few listens….I was hooked then. It wasn’t like Eggs over Easy…it took a few times and then I thought…yes! I get it.
He is a one of a kind songwriter for sure.
I only know of him by name through his work with Ian and Sylvia Tyson. So this is new to me ! He has a different take on the Folk song. More interesting than your average Folk song as well.
Yes…like I told Christian…it took me a few listens…then it hit me…yes…I get it. Some songs get me at the first listen like yesterday’s band Eggs over Easy…some, like this one, I get a little later.
“Hotwalker” isn’t an album that casually puts you in a good mood, but one whose concerns, nuances, and punchlines make each relistening an expedition into “lost America”.
I love your description fox…I’m enjoying the album…it’s my first time listening to it. It’s definitely a journey…but I want to start at the first one and work myself through.
The ‘Fox’ comes through with a short succinct bang on comment. Put life on the shelf, turn off the tube , put the phone down and get taken into a forgotten part of America.
I really don’t know what to make of it. Musically it is as close to unique a sound as you could get. Interesting lyrics though and cool album cover picture. Quite an ode to Guthrie once it gets rolling
It took me a few listens…like some songs do…and it hit me…I like this. It’s a very interesting concept.
I can get that. It probably would never win over the Boys II Men/ Britney’s in a schoolgirl kilt crowd, might not win me over either. But pretty interesting lyrics and there’s always room for unconventional deliveries
Yes…and after the first it turns into a more regular song. You know what? That first part may not be part of that song…since it’s a concept album…they might have grabbed that before…I need to check that out.
Music moves us in different ways. This songs cuts deep for me. If I didnt know anything about Woodrow I would have rushed out and bought everything he ever recorded after hearing Tom’s ode. It gives me shivers Max. “Hail Woodrow Wilson Guthrie” and Tom Russel , a music troubadour and keeper of a forgotten America.
Yes…Fox did a great description of it. I love what I’m hearing off this album…I want to start with the 1999 album and work through these three especially. One of the best tributes I’ve ever heard.
It fits well with your Bob Wills take and all the tributes to him. Something about Tom’s writing. ‘Gallo Da Cielo’ was covered by Joe Ely and brought two of my favorite musicians together. Tom has a wealth of great songs Max. They never end. Yes I would agree on “One of the best tribute songs”
Gallo Da Cielo is epic! It really is…this one is epic as well…you wouldn’t think a singer-songwriter like him would do something huge like this…it’s awesome.
I discovered Russell through his work with Dave Alvin. They wrote Haley’s Comet, and a number of other songs, and were responsible for the Tulare Dust tribute to Merle Haggard.
His songs are unique, that’s for sure. I have rarely been touched as I was by “Where The Dream Begins.” The Man From Who Knows Where is classic. “Blue Wing” still chokes me up, as somehow I associate it with missing my father (who died in 1995). The difference between the way Russell does Haley’s Comet and the way Dave Alvin does the same song is amazing. He was one of the co-writers of “Outbound Plane” that Suzy Bogguss had a hit with. Songs like Navajo Rug, Walking On The Moon and Beyond the Blues are amazing. And then there is his classic “Gallo Del Cielo”.
He used to travel with Andrew Hardin, an acoustic guitarist who is miraculous. If you get a chance to hear a recording from their collaboration, what Andy does will take your breath away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Au1HeVzwU&list=RDb1Au1HeVzwU&start_radio=1&pp=ygULVG9tIFJ1c2VlbGygBwE%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMJkMA7EW9E
So, Max, I applaud your selection. I don’t think this is one of his best songs, but there are few Tom Russell odes that are not worth your attention.
I was telling CB before…all of these artists were like a community in a way…they seemed to cross paths a lot….and I’m glad they did. Thanks Arthur
Very interesting. I knew I had heard the name, so I looked him up. He had connections with Nanci Griffith, she covered one of his songs, and they wrote “Outbound Plane” together. Nice audio montage.
Dave Alvin as well…it seems like a group of them are connected quite a lot.
Pretty weird stuff, Max.
It’s different at first but then settles in.
It’s a good rambling song, very well told. Quirky but not ‘far out.’
Yea…it still accessible to me anyway. At first my mind went to Woodrow Wilson
Yep.
My first thought too.
Is that the first song you’ve ever posted with an E warning?