Anamaría De La Cruz:  Some of my earliest memories as a child growing up in the UFW are of singing. I remember that on Sundays we would sing together in the Administration building, where the community meetings were held. Sitting on my parents’ shoulders, on the picket lines, UFW songs lent so much power and energy to our group.

Pastures of Plenty is an honest portrayal of how difficult work in the fields is and a tribute to how powerful farm workers are. The music and the lyrics represent this vulnerability and strength. The chords shift from minor to major (C# minor, E major), and the song begins with the plaintive “It’s a mighty hard row that my poor hand has hoed”, but ends with the more powerful declaration that “My land I’ll defend with my life if it be, cause my pastures of plenty must always be free.” Singing this song, the contrast between the words “I” and “your” jumps out at you --  “I worked in your orchards…I make all your crops…cut the grapes from your vine, to set on your table your light sparkling wine” -- expressing the gulf between farm workers and growers, and the alienation and disenfranchisement felt in watching someone else reap the benefits and profits of your hard labor.  

The rhythm of the song lends itself to the feeling of movement that the words also portray. (“ California , Arizona , I make all your crops…North up to Oregon …Every state in this Union us migrants have been.”) Recording this song, we hoped to capture that sense of vulnerability, that sense of movement, and ultimately, that sense of strength. 

* In keeping with UFW tradition, some of the words of this version of Pastures of Plenty are slightly different from those of Guthrie’s original version.

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