Today we want to share with you one of her most popular ballads, The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore. Sung by the likes of  Johnny Cash, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, this ballad sings about the hard times in an Appalachia coal town. ​

Hailing from dust bowl territory, she related to the wandering migrants that flooded into California looking for work. As the Depression worsened, she joined the relief efforts and began working at the FSA government camps. She documented the daily struggles of these poor families, filling countless journals. 

From these notes, she began writing a novel:  Whose Names are Unknown. It caught the eye of a publisher at Random House. Unfortunately, Sanora's hopes were dashed when John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath was released and gained instant national fame. Sadly, Random House and other publishers refused to publish another book about the dust bowl. 

This rejection stunted Sanora for nearly 20 years when she published The Lost Traveler, followed by her memoir, An Owl on Every Post. Whose Names are Unknown collected dust until 2004 when it was published by University of Oklahoma Press, one year before Sanora died. 

So as we close out women's history month, let's remember the great women who were nearly forgotten and hope we discover the ones who were. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/forgotten-dust-bowl-novel-rivaled-grapes-wrath/

Pastures of Plenty is one of our favorite Woody Guthrie songs. 
It tells the tale of wandering dust bowlers. These hard-working people were ignored and pushed to the side, but our way of life depended on them. They worked our farms and cultivated our land, but we did not show them any gratitude, especially during the stress of the Great Depression.

Guthrie would sometimes pair his lyrics with familiar folk melodies. The song could then travel far and wide, instantly becoming recognizable, encouraging people to listen.   

Pastures of Plenty uses the beautiful folk melody of "Pretty Polly", an Appalachian murder ballad dating back to the 18th century. It has a haunting and mysterious quality that we love. Below is a video of us performing it. 

Once you watch our video, please keep scrolling. We have included some suggested podcasts and albums. Please take a listen to learn more about Woody and his songs. 
We hope you enjoy his story and his music as much as we do.