“He sings the songs of a people and I suspect that he is, in a way, that people.”

As quoted in Woody Guthrie: A Life (1981) by Joe Klein, p. 160
Context: Woody is just Woody. Thousands of people do not know he has any other name. He is just a voice and a guitar. He sings the songs of a people and I suspect that he is, in a way, that people. Harsh voiced and nasal, his guitar hanging like a tire iron on a rusty rim, there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of the people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit.

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Do you have more details about the quote "He sings the songs of a people and I suspect that he is, in a way, that people." by John Steinbeck?
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John Steinbeck 366
American writer 1902–1968

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