Tom Joad Blues Pt. 1 Lyrics

The song Tom Joad Blues Pt. 1 is performed by Woody Guthrie in the album named Anthology in the year 2006 .



Tom Joad got out of the old McAlester Pen;
There he got his parole.
After four long years on a man killing charge,
Tom Joad come a-walkin' down the road, poor boy,
Tom Joad come a-walkin' down the road.

Tom Joad, he met a truck driving man;
There he caught him a ride.
He said, "I just got loose from McAlester Pen
On a charge called homicide,
A charge called homicide."

That truck rolled away in a cloud of dust;
Tommy turned his face toward home.
He met Preacher Casey, and they had a little drink,
But they found that his family they was gone,
He found that his family they was gone.

He found his mother's old fashion shoe,
Found his daddy's hat.
And he found little Muley and Muley said,
"They've been tractored out by the cats,
They've been tractored out by the cats."

Tom Joad walked down to the neighbor's farm,
Found his family.
They took Preacher Casey and loaded in a car,
And his mother said, "We've got to get away."
His mother said, "We've got to get away."

Now, the twelve of the Joads made a mighty heavy load;
But Grandpa Joad did cry.
He picked up a handful of land in his hand,
Said: "I'm stayin' with the farm till I die.
Yes, I'm stayin' with the farm till I die."

They fed him short ribs and coffee and soothing syrup;
And Grandpa Joad did die.
They buried Grandpa Joad by the side of the road,
Grandma on the California side,
They buried Grandma on the California side.

They stood on a mountain and they looked to the west,
And it looked like the promised land.
That bright green valley with a river running through,
There was work for every single hand, they thought,
There was work for every single hand.

The Joads rolled away to the jungle camp,
There they cooked a stew.
And the hungry little kids of the jungle camp
Said: "We'd like to have some, too."
Said: "We'd like to have some, too."

Now a deputy sheriff fired loose at a man,
Shot a woman in the back.
Before he could take his aim again,
Preacher Casey dropped him in his track, poor boy,
Preacher Casey dropped him in his track.

They handcuffed Casey and they took him in jail;
And then he got away.
And he met Tom Joad on the old river bridge,
And these few words he did say, poor boy,
These few words he did say.

"I preached for the Lord a mighty long time,
Preached about the rich and the poor.
Us workin' folkses, all get together,
'Cause we ain't got a chance anymore.
We ain't got a chance anymore."

Now, the deputies come, and Tom and Casey run
To the bridge where the water run down.
But the vigilante thugs hit Casey with a club,
They laid Preacher Casey on the ground, poor Casey,
They laid Preacher Casey on the ground.

Tom Joad, he grabbed that deputy's club,
Hit him over the head.
Tom Joad took flight in the dark rainy night,
And a deputy and a preacher lying dead, two men,
A deputy and a preacher lying dead.

Tom run back where his mother was asleep;
He woke her up out of bed.
An' he kissed goodbye to the mother that he loved,
Said what Preacher Casey said, Tom Joad,
He said what Preacher Casey said.

"Ever'body might be just one big soul,
Well it looks that a-way to me.
Everywhere that you look, in the day or night,
That's where I'm a-gonna be, Ma,
That's where I'm a-gonna be.

Wherever little children are hungry and cry,
Wherever people ain't free.
Wherever men are fightin' for their rights,
That's where I'm a-gonna be, Ma.
That's where I'm a-gonna be."



Woody Guthrie - Anthology

Nov 2006

  1. A Dollar Down
  2. Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way
  3. Bad Lee Brown
  4. Blowing Down The Road
  5. Boll Weevil Blues
  6. Brown Eyes
  7. Bury Me Beneath The Willow
  8. Columbus Stockade
  9. Cumberland Gap
  10. Ezekiel Saw The Wheel
  11. Get Along Little Doggies
  12. Hang Knot
  13. Hey Lolly Lolly
  14. Howjadoo
  15. Jack Hammer Blues
  16. John Henry
  17. Johnny Hard
  18. Lonesome Day
  19. Lost John
  20. More Pretty Girls Than One
  21. Old Time Religion
  22. Ride Old Paint
  23. Skip To My Lou
  24. Sourwood Mountain
  25. Springfield Mountain
  26. Struggle Blues
  27. Great Dust Storm
  28. Golden Vanity
  29. Dying Miner
  30. Tom Joad Blues Pt. 1
  31. Tom Joad Blues Pt. 2
  32. Union Burying Ground
  33. Waiting At The Gate
  34. We Shall Be Free
  35. What Did The Deep Sea Say?
  36. Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Feet?
  37. Whoopie Tii Yi Yo, Get Along Little Doggies
  38. Will You Miss Me?

Tom Joad Blues Pt. 1