Chords for Will Kaufman - Do Re Mi (Woody Guthrie)
Tempo:
113.5 bpm
Chords used:
G
D
C
A
F
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
So this is a song, [F] a lot of people know this song, it's Woody Guthrie's song, Do Re Mi.
But a lot of people actually don't know the historical background to the song.
What happened was in about 1937, Woody was in Pampa, Texas when the Dust Bowl hit and
he was there.
And well 1935 is when really [N] the dust hit, it was 1937 by the time that he decided he
was going to pull up and move out to California along with about half a million other migrants
from the Dust Bowl region who'd heard that there was work in California for them in the
fields and of course that was highly exaggerated, there wasn't a lot of work for people out
there so there were half a million migrants coming into California looking for work and
there wasn't enough work for half a million people out there.
So all these migrant camps were springing up all [F] along the way between the Dust Bowl
and California and then arriving at the California border, these migrants were stopped cold because
the Los Angeles Police Department, they were panicked, they were overwhelmed, they were
afraid, they set up this highly illegal barricade, a roadblock that was stopping the migrants
from coming into the state of California.
It was illegal, it was unconstitutional, you're not allowed to stop Americans from coming
from one state to another so it's a foreign country, they couldn't do that.
But the LAPD set up, way outside their jurisdiction anyway, they set up a roadblock stopping these
Americans from coming into the state of California and what they were stopping and turning back
anybody who looked like an unemployable and the way that you would prove that you weren't
an unemployable is you'd reach into your pocket and you'd pull out 50 bucks and if you could
show 50 bucks to the border guard, he'd let you into the state of California.
So Woody, that's what Woody wrote about, he was amazed that you actually have to reach
into your pocket and pull out 50 bucks at the old Do Re Mi if you want to be allowed
into the state of California.
So he sent this kind of musical postcard to the folks back home in the Dust Bowl who were
thinking of coming out to California, maybe they better think again unless they got the
Do [D] Re Mi.
[G]
[C]
[G] [D] [G]
Now lots of folks back east they say, they're [C] leaving home most every day, [A] they're beating
that hard old dusty way to the [G] California line.
Across the desert sands [C] they roll, getting out of that old [A] Dust Bowl while they think
they're coming to a sugar bowl, here's what [G] they'll find.
The police [A] at the port of [D] entry say, [A] now you're number 14,000 for today and if you ain't got
that Do Re Mi, well I tell you, if you ain't got that Do Re Mi, then you [Am] better go back
to beautiful [D] Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee.
California's a garden of Eden and a paradise to live [C] in or see, believe it or not you [G] won't
find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi.
[C] [D] [G]
Now if you want to buy a home or [C] farm, that can't do nobody no [A] harm, take your vacation
by the mountains or the sea, but you better not swap your cow for [C] car, better stay right
where [A] you are, better take this little [G] tip from me, [A] cause I look through the wall tags
every day and the headlines in the papers [D] always say, [G] hey you ain't got that Do Re Mi,
you ain't got that Do [D] Re Mi, well then you better go back to beautiful [D] Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee.
[G] California's a garden of Eden, it's a paradise to live [C] in or see, but believe it or not [G] you
won't find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi.
[C] [D] [G]
But a lot of people actually don't know the historical background to the song.
What happened was in about 1937, Woody was in Pampa, Texas when the Dust Bowl hit and
he was there.
And well 1935 is when really [N] the dust hit, it was 1937 by the time that he decided he
was going to pull up and move out to California along with about half a million other migrants
from the Dust Bowl region who'd heard that there was work in California for them in the
fields and of course that was highly exaggerated, there wasn't a lot of work for people out
there so there were half a million migrants coming into California looking for work and
there wasn't enough work for half a million people out there.
So all these migrant camps were springing up all [F] along the way between the Dust Bowl
and California and then arriving at the California border, these migrants were stopped cold because
the Los Angeles Police Department, they were panicked, they were overwhelmed, they were
afraid, they set up this highly illegal barricade, a roadblock that was stopping the migrants
from coming into the state of California.
It was illegal, it was unconstitutional, you're not allowed to stop Americans from coming
from one state to another so it's a foreign country, they couldn't do that.
But the LAPD set up, way outside their jurisdiction anyway, they set up a roadblock stopping these
Americans from coming into the state of California and what they were stopping and turning back
anybody who looked like an unemployable and the way that you would prove that you weren't
an unemployable is you'd reach into your pocket and you'd pull out 50 bucks and if you could
show 50 bucks to the border guard, he'd let you into the state of California.
So Woody, that's what Woody wrote about, he was amazed that you actually have to reach
into your pocket and pull out 50 bucks at the old Do Re Mi if you want to be allowed
into the state of California.
So he sent this kind of musical postcard to the folks back home in the Dust Bowl who were
thinking of coming out to California, maybe they better think again unless they got the
Do [D] Re Mi.
[G]
[C]
[G] [D] [G]
Now lots of folks back east they say, they're [C] leaving home most every day, [A] they're beating
that hard old dusty way to the [G] California line.
Across the desert sands [C] they roll, getting out of that old [A] Dust Bowl while they think
they're coming to a sugar bowl, here's what [G] they'll find.
The police [A] at the port of [D] entry say, [A] now you're number 14,000 for today and if you ain't got
that Do Re Mi, well I tell you, if you ain't got that Do Re Mi, then you [Am] better go back
to beautiful [D] Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee.
California's a garden of Eden and a paradise to live [C] in or see, believe it or not you [G] won't
find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi.
[C] [D] [G]
Now if you want to buy a home or [C] farm, that can't do nobody no [A] harm, take your vacation
by the mountains or the sea, but you better not swap your cow for [C] car, better stay right
where [A] you are, better take this little [G] tip from me, [A] cause I look through the wall tags
every day and the headlines in the papers [D] always say, [G] hey you ain't got that Do Re Mi,
you ain't got that Do [D] Re Mi, well then you better go back to beautiful [D] Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee.
[G] California's a garden of Eden, it's a paradise to live [C] in or see, but believe it or not [G] you
won't find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi.
[C] [D] [G]
Key:
G
D
C
A
F
G
D
C
_ So this is a song, [F] a lot of people know this song, it's Woody Guthrie's _ song, Do Re Mi.
_ But a lot of people actually don't know the historical background to the song.
What happened was in about _ 1937, Woody was in Pampa, Texas when the Dust Bowl hit and
he was there. _ _ _
And well 1935 is when really [N] the dust hit, it was 1937 by the time that he decided he
was going to pull up and move out to California along with about half a million other migrants
from the Dust Bowl region who'd heard that there was work in California for them in the
fields and of course that was highly exaggerated, there wasn't a lot of work for people out
there so there were _ _ half a million migrants coming into California looking for _ _ _ _ _ work and
there wasn't enough work for half a million people out there.
So all these migrant camps were springing up all [F] along the way between the Dust Bowl
and California and then arriving at the California border, these migrants were stopped cold because
the Los Angeles Police Department, _ they were panicked, they were overwhelmed, they were
afraid, they set up this highly illegal barricade, a roadblock that was stopping the migrants
from coming into the state of California.
It was illegal, it was unconstitutional, you're not allowed to stop Americans from coming
from one state to another so it's a foreign country, they couldn't do that.
But the LAPD set up, way outside their jurisdiction anyway, they set up a roadblock stopping these
Americans from coming into the state of California and what they were stopping and turning back
anybody who looked like an unemployable and the way that you would prove that you weren't
an unemployable is you'd reach into your pocket and you'd pull out 50 bucks and if you could
show 50 bucks to the border guard, _ he'd let you into the state of California.
So Woody, that's what Woody wrote about, he was amazed that you actually have to reach
into your pocket and pull out 50 bucks at the old Do Re Mi if you want to be allowed
into the state of California.
So he sent this kind of musical postcard to the folks back home in the Dust Bowl who were
thinking of coming out to California, maybe they better think again unless they got the
Do [D] Re Mi.
_ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ Now lots of folks back east they say, they're [C] leaving home most every day, [A] they're beating
that hard old dusty way to the [G] California line.
_ Across the desert sands [C] they roll, getting out of that old [A] Dust Bowl while they think
they're coming to a sugar bowl, here's what [G] they'll find.
The police [A] at the port of [D] entry say, _ [A] now you're number 14,000 for today _ and if you ain't got
that Do Re Mi, well I tell you, if you ain't got that Do Re Mi, _ then you [Am] better go back
to beautiful [D] Texas, _ Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee. _ _ _
_ California's a garden of Eden _ and a paradise to live [C] in or see, believe it or not you [G] won't
find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi. _ _
[C] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _ _ _
Now if you want to buy a home or [C] farm, that can't do nobody no [A] harm, take your vacation
by the mountains or the sea, but you better not swap your cow for [C] car, better stay right
where [A] you are, better take this little [G] tip from me, _ [A] cause I look through the wall tags
every day and the headlines in the papers [D] always say, _ _ _ [G] hey you ain't got that Do Re Mi,
_ you ain't got that Do [D] Re Mi, well then you better go back to beautiful [D] Texas, _ Oklahoma,
Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee.
_ [G] _ _ California's a garden of Eden, it's a paradise to live [C] in or see, but believe it or not [G] you
won't find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi.
_ [C] _ _ _ [D] _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ But a lot of people actually don't know the historical background to the song.
What happened was in about _ 1937, Woody was in Pampa, Texas when the Dust Bowl hit and
he was there. _ _ _
And well 1935 is when really [N] the dust hit, it was 1937 by the time that he decided he
was going to pull up and move out to California along with about half a million other migrants
from the Dust Bowl region who'd heard that there was work in California for them in the
fields and of course that was highly exaggerated, there wasn't a lot of work for people out
there so there were _ _ half a million migrants coming into California looking for _ _ _ _ _ work and
there wasn't enough work for half a million people out there.
So all these migrant camps were springing up all [F] along the way between the Dust Bowl
and California and then arriving at the California border, these migrants were stopped cold because
the Los Angeles Police Department, _ they were panicked, they were overwhelmed, they were
afraid, they set up this highly illegal barricade, a roadblock that was stopping the migrants
from coming into the state of California.
It was illegal, it was unconstitutional, you're not allowed to stop Americans from coming
from one state to another so it's a foreign country, they couldn't do that.
But the LAPD set up, way outside their jurisdiction anyway, they set up a roadblock stopping these
Americans from coming into the state of California and what they were stopping and turning back
anybody who looked like an unemployable and the way that you would prove that you weren't
an unemployable is you'd reach into your pocket and you'd pull out 50 bucks and if you could
show 50 bucks to the border guard, _ he'd let you into the state of California.
So Woody, that's what Woody wrote about, he was amazed that you actually have to reach
into your pocket and pull out 50 bucks at the old Do Re Mi if you want to be allowed
into the state of California.
So he sent this kind of musical postcard to the folks back home in the Dust Bowl who were
thinking of coming out to California, maybe they better think again unless they got the
Do [D] Re Mi.
_ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ Now lots of folks back east they say, they're [C] leaving home most every day, [A] they're beating
that hard old dusty way to the [G] California line.
_ Across the desert sands [C] they roll, getting out of that old [A] Dust Bowl while they think
they're coming to a sugar bowl, here's what [G] they'll find.
The police [A] at the port of [D] entry say, _ [A] now you're number 14,000 for today _ and if you ain't got
that Do Re Mi, well I tell you, if you ain't got that Do Re Mi, _ then you [Am] better go back
to beautiful [D] Texas, _ Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee. _ _ _
_ California's a garden of Eden _ and a paradise to live [C] in or see, believe it or not you [G] won't
find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi. _ _
[C] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _ _ _
Now if you want to buy a home or [C] farm, that can't do nobody no [A] harm, take your vacation
by the mountains or the sea, but you better not swap your cow for [C] car, better stay right
where [A] you are, better take this little [G] tip from me, _ [A] cause I look through the wall tags
every day and the headlines in the papers [D] always say, _ _ _ [G] hey you ain't got that Do Re Mi,
_ you ain't got that Do [D] Re Mi, well then you better go back to beautiful [D] Texas, _ Oklahoma,
Kansas, Georgia, [G] Tennessee.
_ [G] _ _ California's a garden of Eden, it's a paradise to live [C] in or see, but believe it or not [G] you
won't find it so hot, you ain't got that Do Re Mi.
_ [C] _ _ _ [D] _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _