Woody Guthrie is famous for championing the common people in the United States, but when fascism rose to power in the 1930s and World War II broke out, he extended his vision overseas. He condemned fascism not just because it was authoritarian but because it was “a highly illegitimate criminal endeavor intended to exploit the common people.” Some things never change. The recording is taken from a radio broadcast; Guthrie is accompanied by Sonny Terry on harmonica.
The song was reworked by Billy Bragg and Jeff Tweedy as part of their project to set some of Guthrie’s lyrics to more modern music.
