Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie

“Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie” (2020) for Adaptable Band was composed in response to the need for new music that may be performed by middle and high school band ensembles of flexible size and instrumentation. This five-minute work can be performed by seven or more players on a wide variety of musical instruments, depending on availability.

The composition is inspired by Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), the Dust Bowl troubadour who traveled the backroads of America from coast to coast with his guitar and harmonica, performing folk songs of love, wandering, and social justice at Workers Union gatherings, radio stations, street corners, and concert halls during the Great Depression and World War II. The main theme heard at the beginning of the composition is based on the old gospel hymn “Oh My Loving Brother,” which Guthrie borrowed and used as the main theme for his famous anthem “This Land Is Your Land” (1940).

Perhaps it matters now more than ever to remember these iconic words from “This Land Is Your Land.”

“This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me.”