Enjoy an hour with Woody Guthrie as performed by Carl Allen
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Roll On ColumbiaGreen Douglas fir where the waters cut through,Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew, Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue, Roll on Columbia, roll on. Other great rivers add power to you, Yakima, Snake, and Klickitat too, Sandy, Willamette, and the Hood River too, Roll on Columbia, roll on. At Bonneville now there are ships in the lock, The waters have risen and covered the rocks, Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks, Roll on Columbia, roll on. And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam, Mightiest thing ever built by man, To run the great factories and water the land, Roll on Columbia roll on. |
Other River Songs presented in the An Hour With Woody concert
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Woody GuthrieWoody Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912 and died in New York in 1967. He is recognized as an important figure in America folksinging, having written in excess of 2000 songs and ballads. Included amoung his famous works, "This Land is Your Land," It's Been Good to Know You," and "Roll on Columbia." His songs were authentic expression of his times, chonicling the dreams, hopes, and suffering of those who were displaced by the Great Depression of the thirties. He influenced hundreds of modern day singers, including Bob Dylan, Hoyt Axton, RamblinšJack Elliot, Peter, Paul and Mary and Bruce Springsteen. In May 1941 Guthrie was hired on a thirty day contract by the Bonneville Power Administration to write songs for a film about the Columbia River. It was one of the most productive periods of his life. He wrote 26 songs, using old melodies with new words for the most part, and throwing in a few songs which had nothing to do with the Columbia but which help him meet a deadline. |