Happy Birthday, Woody

Woody Guthrie, born this day in 1912.

He wrote a lot, and he gave a voice to the unheard.




Old Cap Moore

Old Cap Moore was a bakery hand
Loaded trucks at night
The hungry cries of the alley kids
Made Old Cap close his eyes
He turned his back while the kids ran up
Grabbed a good hot loaf of bread
The kids run home, but when payday come
Cap Moore was in the red

Because the bakery boss did count the loss
And he wrote it in his book
He docked Old Cap full retail price
For the bread the kids had took
Old Cap he jammed the backdoor latch
So the door did fly unlocked
The hungry kids picked up that bread
For ten or twenty blocks

Mister, I’m a-tellin’ you
Everything I’ve said is true
No alley kid had a friend as sure
As Old Cap Moore

That boss took the driver and Cap to court
But he could not make it stick
The driver swore, “I did not know
“Those doors had come unhitched.”
Old Cap says, “Boss, I’ma quitting you
“And I am quitting now
“I’ve got friends to put me up
“In every house in town.”

Mister, I’m a-tellin’ you
What the old man said was true
It’s an open hand and an open door
For Old Cap Moore

Mister, I’m tellin’ you
One thing I know is true
To even the score we need a whole lot more
Like Old Cap Moore


Woody Guthrie lyrics