STARTING SOON

It's almost time for The Great Accent Gem Designs Giveaway, hosted by Michele of Angels Bark and Janie of Janie Junebug Righting & Editing. We have some great prizes for you, and we hope to make your Christmas shopping easier.

I asked Michele if we could have this giveaway because I want to call attention to the beautiful jewelry she makes. I also hope you'll notice that I've changed the title of my blog to Janie Junebug Righting & Editing. The title change is one of the first steps in making my blog more writing oriented so I can answer your grammatical questions, give you writing tips, and bring in folks to write guest posts about how they publish their books.

You have to use the Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. We have a variety of activities for you to perform so you can earn entries. We hope you have fun, and we look forward to giving you cool prizes!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOTB THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Hey! The upcoming week will be great. The turkey thaws in the refrigerator as I write. I have a giveaway in the works with Michele, who blogs at Angels Bark, with great prizes and a discount in Michele's online shop, Accent Gem Designs. Her jewelry is to die for, and she makes every piece with love. Watch for the Rafflecopter, and spread the news.

Before I tell you the results for the November 15, 2015, Battle of the Bands, I have a request. In your blog rolls and anyplace else that's regularly visible on your blogs, where you have the title WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME, please change it to Janie Junebug Righting & Editing.

Thank you. That is not all.

BOTB: The song is This Land Is Your Land. The contenders are Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen. Woody wins easily. He is THE BOSS of The Boss.

I loved sharing information about Woody with you during this battle.

Final Count:

Woody Guthrie     25
Bruce Springsteen 4

Will someone please comfort Cherdo (of Cherdo On The Flipside)? I live in Florida; Cherdo lives in Tennessee. I can hear her sobbing. Remember, she is a big Bruce fan, 

Cherdo, please, I need some sleep. Penelope says if you are quiet, then you can bring Gonzo to live with us and be my new son when he has recovered. In exchange for the gift of Gonzo, Penelope might allow you to pet her.

Oh, Woody Guthrie, we love you so. You are an American icon.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug



Woody wrote many songs for children. This is one:

PENELOPE'S FIRST POST

hello my name is penelope or sometimes penny

i was born under a house in Georgia i was there a little while a nice lady rescued me and my mom and my brothers and sisters the nice lady rescues lots of dogs and tries to help them find homes where they will have a good life

i lived in a kennel with another dog for a long time i thought i would live there furever but a few weeks ago another nice lady showed up she hugged me and said my name is mom

then she put me in her car and drove me to florida i live with mom now

i have learned a lot mom says she is proud of me

i have a brother here his name is franklin

franklin is nice to me we is friends

everything is new and confoosing i do not like all the loud noises outside mom says it is work on a house she hopes they will be done soon maybe i be less scairt

mom feeds me and takes me to the vet man for my shots they don't hurt very much i have a microchip too don't ever want to get lost

i like this new mom but i like someone else a whole lot too

a very tall man with paintings on his skin comes to visit he picks me up and i sit on his lap last night i sat on his lap and watched a movie

i didn't understand the movie but i like the tall man he holds me just right

another man comes to visit too i don't know him much but he is nice to me

the mom lady says she has something special coming up for peoples who visits her blog there will be presents like a party i have never been to a party but mom gives me presents i have toys to chew on i have a comfy crate where i like to sleep at night during day i stays close to mom while she makes her tapping and clicking noises on the machine she says nice things to me all the time and never gets mad

she hopes i will want to sleep in the bed with her i am not ready to be up high on a bed yet

i don't know who you are out there but i have a question

do you think i will stay here i think i would like that especially if the noisy men go away and the tall man keeps coming to visit me mom kisses me too

i like quiet i do not bark i am not sure if i remember how to bark i made a noise one night mom said it sounded like a moo cow and a donkey bray 

maybe i bark someday

remember mom's blog has a new name and she and another lady are going to give away beautiful presents that is nice 

mom says i am not one of the presents she says i am a treasure

when we wake up in the morning she says to me you are as shiny and pretty as a new penny

i think we will all be friends will you be my friends i hope so

i be right here if you want to talk to me

your friend to be,

penelope

A NEW NAME BUT I REMAIN IN THE SAME PLACE--ON MY THRONE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

If you take a look at the top of this page, you'll see that I've changed the title of my blog to Janie Junebug Righting & Editing. I still have the same URL. If you slip up and use the former title, I'll understand. I had the same title for a long time.

My new title reflects some changes I want to make to my blog so it's more writing oriented. But I'll continue to write MOVIE WEEKEND as regularly as I can, and when Franklin and Penelope are in the mood to write, they will help with blogging duties on Fridays.

Fishducky discovered the following image and sent it to me:

I'll see you soon with some fun news.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

FIVE FACTS ABOUT WOODY GUTHRIE AND ONE ABOUT BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Many of you know by now that my current Battle of the Bands pits Woody Guthrie against Bruce Springsteen on This Land Is Your Land, which Guthrie wrote in 1940.

To see the BOTB post and vote for Guthrie or Springsteen, please click HERE.

While we wait for the results on Nov. 21 (I already know the results; Bruce is getting the butt kicking of his life), I'll tell you five facts about Guthrie (source: Wikipedia), and one about Springsteen (source: Cherdo's story).

Five facts about Woody Guthrie:

1. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. 
2. When Woody was fourteen, his mother, Nora, was committed to the Oklahoma Hospital for the Insane because she had Huntington's Disease. Charley Guthrie, Woody's father, was in Texas, working to pay off debts. Woody and his siblings were on their own in Oklahoma and had to fend for themselves.
3. Fire played a major role in Woody Guthrie's life. When he was seven, his sister Clara died in a coal-oil fire. Later, Woody's father was badly burned in another coal-oil fire. When Woody's daughter Cathy was four, she died in a fire that was a freak accident. Later in Woody's life, gasoline used to start a fire exploded and injured his arm so severely that he could no longer play the guitar.
4. Woody Guthrie was the roamer and rambler as he describes the persona in what is probably the most famous of the hundreds of songs he wrote, This Land Is Your Land. He was married and divorced three times and had eight children. Three of the children survive. 
5. In 1956, Guthrie had to be hospitalized because he had Huntington's Disease--a hereditary illness. Two of his daughters from his first marriage died from Huntington's. One son and two daughters died too young to know if they had Huntington's. Woody Guthrie died in 1967 at the age of 55. His most faithful visitors during his eleven-year hospitalization were his second wife; some of his children, including Arlo Guthrie, who is a well-known singer and songwriter in his own right; and 19-year-old Bob Dylan.

Woody Guthrie in 1943

Now, one fact about Bruce Springsteen:

My good friend Cherdo, who blogs at Cherdo on the Flipside, is in love with Bruce Springsteen and once figured out where his house was. On a dare, she went toward the front door to knock and was intercepted by security.

I'm sorry Bruce didn't come out to meet you, Cherdo.

Bruce Springsteen in 1973

Today, I ask a variety of singers to serenade you with This Land Is Your Land. Sing us out, please, gang.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

THIS LAND ORIGINAL LYRICS

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

These are the original lyrics to This Land as Woody Guthrie wrote them on a piece of paper on February 23 (my birthday), 1940 (not the year of my birth--not even close):

This land is your land, this land is my land

From the California to the Staten New York Island,

From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters,

God blessed America for me.

[This land was made for you and me.]

As I went walking that ribbon of highway

And saw above me that endless skyway,

And saw below me the golden valley, I said:

God blessed America for me.

[This land was made for you and me.]

I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,

And all around me, a voice was sounding:

God blessed America for me.

[This land was made for you and me.]

Was a high wall there that tried to stop me

A sign was painted said: Private Property,

But on the back side it didn't say nothing —

God blessed America for me.

[This land was made for you and me.]

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling

In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling;

The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting:

God blessed America for me.

[This land was made for you and me.]

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple

By the Relief Office I saw my people —

As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if

God blessed America for me.

[This land was made for you and me.]

(Source: Wikipedia)

I cannot find when the title was changed from This Land to This Land Is Your Land.

I remember when I was in elementary school that it was the very first song in our music book. It came before The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America and My Country 'Tis of Thee. I knew it had to be an important song.

What I didn't know was that our music book left out the more "controversial" verses about the high wall meant to stop people from going where they wanted and about the hungry people by the Relief Office.

I learned those verses when I became an adult. I heard Arlo Guthrie, Woody's son, recount the story of his father when he was near death from Huntington's disease in 1967. Woody insisted that Arlo write out ALL the verses to This Land Is Your Land. Many singers, including Arlo and Pete Seeger, made a special effort to sing the lyrics as Woody Guthrie wrote them.

However, folk singers often sing a song one way on a particular day, and then the next day they might change the lyrics. At times, Woody himself changed the lyrics to his songs.

Who owns This Land Is Your Land? Various organizations claim ownership because the song wasn't copyrighted for quite some time. Later, the copyright was allowed to lapse. Here's how Woody wrote the copyright:

“This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do.”

Because so many artists have covered this song, I ask a different person to sing it for us each day. How about it, Sharon Jones? Will you sing us out?

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

P.S. You can vote in my Battle of the Bands HERE until midnight EST, Nov. 20. I'll announce the winner the next day. The two contenders are Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen. If you're a Springsteen lover, then you better get over there to vote for him. BRUCE GETS TROUNCED might be the headline with the way the battle is headed.

If I'd known about Sharon Jones, I might have chosen her over Springsteen.

ORIGINS OF THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I chose This Land Is Your Land for my current Battle of the Bands. To see the contenders and vote, please click HERE.

When I created the battle, I promised to tell you more about the song. Although most of the information I'll give you comes from Wikipedia, I heard much of it in documentaries about Woody Guthrie, who wrote Land in 1940.

Guthrie didn't record Land until 1944 because he set it aside and forgot about it, according to Joe Klein, author of Woody Guthrie: A Life. It didn't come under the protection of copyright law until 1951.

After seeing the way so many people in the U.S. suffered during the depression, Guthrie felt disgusted with Irving Berlin's God Bless America, and he didn't care to hear Kate Smith singing it on the radio all the time. God Bless America didn't seem realistic.

He set out to write a song that would be an answer to God Bless America. At first, he called it God Blessed America. Then he wrote the title as This Land Was Made For You and Me. Yes, he drew a line through those words, so the title at the time was This Land.

He used much of the same melody as a Baptist gospel hymn that had been the basis for a song by the Carter Family. With each verse, though, he changed the melody. When he reached the final verse, the song was completely different from that of the Carters and the hymn.

I'll stop here for today because I know most people don't like to read long posts. I'll give your more information about the lyrics, and I'll try to do it tomorrow.

I'll also provide you with the song again, but not sung by a contender in my contest. This Land Is Your Land has been recorded many times.

Sing us out, please, Neil.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug