Woody Guthrie had a talent for taking historical events and turning them into thought-provoking songs. Here, he sings about how Jesus Christ stood up for the poor and downtrodden. Guthrie never had much money, stood up for the working man, and traveled the country spreading his message through his songs. While he was never associated with a specific religion, you can see why Guthrie felt an affinity with Jesus Christ. (Thanks to Anna Canoni at the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives. Read more in her full interview. Learn much more at the official Woody Guthrie website.)
U2 recorded this on the 1988 album Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly.
Guthrie performed this at a 1949 concert in New Jersey that was recorded using wire, which is an obscure technique used in the '40s and '50s. These wire recordings were restored and released by the Woody Guthrie Archives as the album The Live Wire: Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949. This is the only known recording of Guthrie performing live.
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