Talkin' Columbia

Woody Guthrie

  Live, Indian Neck Folk Festival, Branford CT - 6 May 1961  

Well, down along the river just a-sittin' on a rock 
Watchin' boats in the Bonneville lock. 
Gate swings open, the boat sails in
Toot that whistle, she's gone again. 
Gasoline goin' up
Wheat comin' down. 

Well, I filled up my hat brim, drunk a little taste
Thought about a river just a-goin' to waste.
Thought about the dust, thought about the sand
Thought about the people, thought about the land. 
Thought about folks runnin' all over creation
Lookin' for some kind of little place to live in. 

Well, I pulled out my pencil, scribbled this song
Figured all them salmon just couldn't be wrong
Them salmon fish is mighty shrewd
They got senators and politicians, too. 
Just about like the governor 
They run every four years. 

Just watch this river, pretty soon 
Everybody's gonna be changin' their tune. 
The Big Grand Coulee and the Bonneville dams 
Run a thousand factories for Uncle Sam
An' everybody else in the world. 
Turnin' out  everything from sewing machines
To atomic bedrooms, to plastic
Everything's gonna be made out of plastic. 

Uncle Sam needs wool and Uncle Sam needs wheat
Uncle Sam need houses and stuff to eat
Uncle Sam needs water and power dams
Uncle Sam needs people and the people need land. 
'Course I don't like dictators not much myself
Think this whole country ought to be run by electricity.