Near simultaneous discovery of Gatewood/Stagecoach clip (and a Woody Guthrie addition)

by David Safier

Imagine my surprise when I saw that Paul Krugman posted on his Conscience of a Liberal blog, Stagecoach Economics. He quoted the same lines spoken by Henry Gatewood in the 1939 western "Stagecoach" as I had quoted in a post the same day.

Did Krugman take the find from me without attribution?

The answer is no. He got it from Digby, who wrote about it the day before I did, referring to a post from brightlightsfilm.com written almost exactly a year earlier.

I swear, I knew about none of this until this morning. My inspiration for the post: I traveled to Monument Valley, which, if you haven't visited, is glorious, August 2 and 3. I stayed at Gouldings Lodge, which is on the spot where the John Ford/John Wayne film crews stayed (Great place, by the way). Every night, Gouldings shows a John Ford film. That's where I saw "Stagecoach" and had my jaw drop when I heard Gatewood say,

"America for Americans! The government must not interfere with business! Reduce taxes! Our national debt is something shocking!"

I guess the whole faux debt crisis and the Republican sound bites stirred memories of the film in others.

So I have to add something new to the discussion, right? How about this.

In 1939, the same year "Stagecoach" was released, Woody Guthrie wrote the song, "Pretty Boy Floyd," about a Robin Hood-like outlaw. At the end of the song, Floyd says,

Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

But as through your life you travel,
And as through your life you roam,
You will never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home.

It's the same sentiment expressed in "Stagecoach." If you watch the whole film, you'll see the prostitute and the outlaw (The Ringo Kid, played by John Wayne) end up being the heroes of the film, while the only true villain is the banker whose weapon of choice is a fountain pen.

I've got a sound clip below with a longer snippet sung by the great Guthrie himself, and the appropriate lyrics below. You can hear the whole Guthrie version here.

 

Clip – pretty boy floyd 2-Segment1(00_00_27-00_02_08)

 

Others tell you of a stranger
That come to beg a meal,
And underneath his napkin
Left a thousand dollar bill.

It was in Oklahoma City,
It was on a Christmas Day,
There come a whole car load of groceries
With a letter that did say:

Well, you say that I'm an outlaw,
You say that I'm a thief.
Here's a Christmas dinner
For the families on relief.

Now, as through this world I ramble
I see lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
Some with a fountain pen.

But as through your life you travel,
And as through your life you roam,
You will never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home.

BONUS 1939 REFERENCE: Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" was first published in 1939. It was a good year for populist art. A year later, 1940, the film, "Grapes of Wrath" was released, directed by (drum roll, please) John Ford.