Bobby Troup, 1946, Londontown Music
If you ever plan to motor west:
Travel my way, the highway that's the best.
Get your kicks on Route 66!
It winds from Chicago to L.A.,
More than 2,000 miles all the way,
Get your kicks on Route 66 !
Now you go thru St. Looey...Joplin, Missouri!
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty.
You'll see Amarillo...Gallup, New Mexico.
Flagstaff, Arizona: don't forget Winona,
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.
Won't you..get hip to this timely tip:
when you..make that California trip.
Get your kicks on Route 66!
Although this song emmbodies the optimistic spirit many of Route 66 travelers had in the 1920's and 1940's, Woody Gutherie's Dust Bowl ballads most poignantly paint the picture of America's battered migrant farmers. Born in Okemah, Oklahoma (a city along Route 66), Gutherie grew up during the Depression and more significantly during the Dust Bowl of 1935. His music touched the hearts of these farmers as America's most famous "folk singer" traveled from Texas to California. His ballads later influenced pop artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Billy Bragg. Singing about love, war, natural disasters, fascism, unions, and families, Gutherie wrote over 1000 original songs. His career lasted less than 20 years but his impact on music and Route 66 culture has lived on.
Listen to the timeless lyrics in these two clips . . .