"America's Balladeer" at 100

"Go to sleep you weary hobo, let the towns drift slowly by. Can't you hear the steel rails hummin'? That's the hobo's lullaby."

I've been listening to WOODY GUTHRIE, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the man Studs Terkel described as "America's balladeer."

"During the epoch of our deepest despair, the Great Depression, his were the songs that lifted the lowly spirits of the 'ordinary,' the millions of the dispossessed," Terkel wrote. "They may have lacked for bread, but he offered them something else: self-esteem, hope and a laugh or two along the way."

Goebel Reeves wrote my favorite Guthrie song, "Hobo's Lullaby," but Woody infused it -- and the subject matter -- with a sublime beauty.

"I know your clothes are torn and ragged and your hair is turning gray. Lift your head and smile at trouble.
You'll find peace and rest someday."

I'll always treasure Guthrie's works, his music and his words. They belong to all of us, and we should be grateful.