Terry Scott:  I first discovered Woody Guthrie songs as a teenager in the early ‘70’s.  The public library in our town had a terrific collection of Smithsonian Folkways albums, as well as some of the older Rounder Records releases.  They were pretty scratchy but it was powerful stuff hearing Woody sing.  His songwriting was so good and his music was so accessible:  a very down-to-earth voice accompanied by simple guitar arrangements.  Listening to him made me feel that creating music myself was not out of reach, i.e., something reserved only for musical virtuosos.

As far as the song “Deportee,” the first time I heard it was on a Judy Collins album.  I remember being so moved by how poignant the story is—especially the poetic imagery in the last verse:  “to die and be scattered like leaves on the topsoil, to be called by no name except deportee…”  It’s heart-wrenching to realize that people could be treated so callously.  Woody’s song reminds us that these were real people deserving of dignity and respect. 

As a songwriter myself, I find it interesting that Woody Guthrie’s original inspiration for “Deportee” came from reading a newspaper story about the plane crash.  Creative inspiration comes from many sources and I have also had the experience of reading a news story and using it as the basis for writing a song.  Throughout my life, I’ve been keyed into how powerful a force music can be.  It’s always seemed to me that a good song can accomplish in a matter of minutes what hours of talking might not be able to do.  Deportee is a wonderful example of that kind of power.

_______________________________________

Sharon Delugach:  I‘ve always loved Deportee and I love Woody Guthrie.  I’ve heard different versions of this song:  I first heard Woody Guthrie sing this song, and I think that it was either Joan Baez or Luis Valdez who changed some of the lyrics to reflect the Farm Workers’ movement.  It’s a haunting and plaintive song.

I started working for the Union when I was fifteen.  I was on the Juan De La Cruz Liberation Brigade because I was too young to drive so I couldn’t be an organizer.  When we picketed outside grocery stores, it always shocked me that people wouldn’t realize where the food came from.  Deportee captures the disconnection and the dehumanization farm workers experience. It’s so easy to dismiss the farm workers and the way that they live and the kinds of lives that they have. Woody Guthrie has such a powerful way of expressing that emotion in this song.

We sang in the van driving to and from the picket line.  That‘s how I learned Spanish; by singing songs in Spanish, and by learning the chants.

There was always so much singing, and telling stories by song in the Union ; it was something that I missed so much when I left! The first job that I got after I left was a job in the bank, and John Brown, [a UFW volunteer] said, “so what kinds of songs do you sing at your morning meetings at the bank?”  And of course, we didn’t sing any songs, and there weren’t any staff meetings, and we didn’t have any camaraderie:  I missed that so much.

At Cesar’s funeral, even though there were 40,000 people, all my friends knew where to look for me---I was with the group of people who were singing, because I love singing so much.  I was also in the Bay Area during Prop 14 with Ken Fujimoto and Paul Milne.  I was all of 20 years old, leading a staff of 100. It didn’t seem so amazing then, but it seems amazing to me now.  Everyone was pretty young, with varying degrees of experience; for many, Prop 14 was their first initiative campaign.  We began and ended every long day with singing:  it brought us together, and reminded us about why we were there, and it was so important for our spirit.

Singing was tremendously important for building the character of the farm worker movement.  We sang to fortify our spirits and it always helped us to remember why we were doing what we were doing.

I worked for the UFW for about two years, from 1975-1977.  The Union changed my life, sent me in a new direction, and I have continued on that path.

_______________________________________

Terry Scott

Sharon Delugach