This machine kills fascists

Woody Guthrie in 1943 with guitar labeled "This machine kills fascists"

"This Machine Kills Fascists" is a message that Woody Guthrie placed on his guitar in 1941,[1] which inspired many subsequent artists.

Conception

Soon after moving into a small fourth-floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan, Guthrie wrote the war song "Talking Hitler's Head Off Blues". This was printed in the Daily Worker newspaper. Then "In a fit of patriotism and faith in the impact of the song, he painted on his guitar THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS."[2]

Guthrie's stance against fascism

In Guthrie's opposition to fascism, he conceptualized the ideology "as a form of economic exploitation similar to slavery..." he straightforwardly denounces the fascists, particularly their leaders, as a group of gangsters who set out to 'rob the world'."[3] This recalled a protest strategy he had used "during the Great Depression, when social, political and economic inequality had been engendered by a small rich elite."[3] During that era Guthrie had "romanticized the deeds of outlaws such as Jesse James, Pretty Boy Floyd, Calamity Jane or the Dalton Gang both as legitimate acts of social responsibility and as 'the ultimate expression of protest', thus transforming the outlaw into an archetypal partisan in a fight against those who were held responsible for the worsening social and economic conditions".[3]

In this Guthrie cast those opposing fascism not as mere outlaws in a fascist state, but as heroes rising "in times of economic turmoil and social disintegration" to fight "a highly illegitimate criminal endeavor intended to exploit the common people."[3] Guthrie joined his voice in portraying not only as "dumb gangsters" but he also "externalized the inhuman element of fascism by describing its representatives as animals that were usually held in very low esteem and were associated with a range of bad character traits."[3] For example, he talked about the "Nazi Snake" that has to be countered in his song "Talking Hitler's Head Off Blues."[3] Guthrie would declare "[a]nything human is anti Hitler" and in his song "You Better Get Ready" he has the figure of Satan declare that "Old Hell just ain't the same/Compared to Hitler, hell, I'm tame!"[3] Guthrie saw the battle against fascism as the ultimate battle of good versus evil. In a letter to "Railroad Pete" he stated "fascism and freedom are the only two sides battling...[this was the war] the world has been waiting on for twenty five million years...[which would] settle the score once and for all".[3]

Guthrie did celebrate the killing of fascists by Ukrainian sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko in his song Miss Pavlichenko, which includes the lines, "You lift up your sight and down comes a hun, and more than three hundred nazidogs fell by your gun."[4]

Homage

Guitar manufacturer Gibson has replicated Guthrie's 1945 Southern Jumbo complete with sticker.

When appearing on a Glen Campbell-hosted television show in the late 1960s Pete Seeger paid homage to Guthrie's phrase by writing "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces it to Surrender" on the calfskin head of his banjo as he sang "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" over images of the drawn-out war in Vietnam.[5]

In his autobiography the folksinger Donovan recalled that out of homage to Guthrie he placed the words "This machine kills" on his guitar, "thinking that fascism was already dead. My machine would kill greed and delusion."[6]

Rob Baker, of The Tragically Hip, has 'This machine kills fascists' written on his guitar in the video to the song Bobcaygeon.

In a tribute to Guthrie, British folksinger Billy Bragg wrote the words "This Guitar Says Sorry" on his instrument in the 1970s.[7]

"This Machine Kills Fascists" is the title of

Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello was inspired by Guthrie to label his guitars with slogans such as "Arm The Homeless," "Sendero Luminoso," "Soul Power," and many more.[8]

The sleeve of the Half Man Half Biscuit album Achtung Bono includes a picture of lead singer Nigel Blackwell holding a guitar with the words "This machine kills wasps" written on it.

It is the name of two effect pedals by TYM Guitars to raise funds for humanitarian charities.[9]

Author John Green has a "⚠ THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS" sticker on the laptop on his desk[10] in the Crash Course history video series, and refers to the famous photo and accompanying catchphrase in his 2008 novel Paper Towns.

Show of Hands' 2012 album Wake the Union features the message on the peculiar acoustic guitar on the album cover, which features numerous symbols related to the United States and England.

Buzz Osborne, founding member and front man of the Melvins, named his 2014 acoustic solo album This Machine Kills Artists in reference to the phrase.

New Albanian Brewing Company sell a T-shirt with pictures of beer brewing equipment and the words "These machines kill fascists" written on it. [11]

Marlboro College art professor, potter, painter, and performance artist, Roberto Lugo, writes "This machine kills hate" on his potters wheel and describes why in a talk he gave to the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA).[12]

Independent rapper Busdriver released a compilation of older material in 2002 named "This Machine Kills Fashion Tips". [13]

Fallout: New Vegas features an M1 Garand named "This Machine," which is inscribed with the words "WELL THIS MACHINE KILLS COMMIES".

Fabrizio Moretti, drummer for The Strokes, wrote " This Machine Also Kills Fascists" on the head of his bass drum in 2016.

The slogan was also adopted and used by the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello adapted to the phrase "this moustache kills fascists"

On the first page of DC Comics June 1st 2016 Green Arrow Rebirth issue, the sticker appears on the guitar of an homeless woman playing in the streets.

Freelance journalist James Card has "This Machine Kills Fascists & Whitetail Deer" on his Ruger Gunsite .308 Scout rifle. [14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Robert Weir, ed. (2007). Class in America [Three Volumes]: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 337.
  2. ↑ Anne E. Neimark (2002). There Ain't Nobody That Can Sing Like Me: The Life of Woody Guthrie. Atheneurn Books.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 John S. Partington (2011). The Life, Music and Thought of Woody Guthrie: A Critical Appraisal. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
  4. ↑ Guthrie, Woody, Guthrie, Hardtravelin’ The Asch Recirdings Vol 1, Smithsonian Folkways, Washington D.C. 1998, track 8
  5. ↑ Steve Martin (2007). Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. Simon and Schuster, Inc.
  6. ↑ Donovan Leitch (2007). The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man. St Martin's Griffin. p. 69.
  7. ↑ Andrew Collins (2013). Billy Bragg: Still Suitable for Miners. Ebury Publishing.
  8. ↑ Musician's Friend. "Tom Morello Guitars & Home Studio". YouTube. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Brennan, Tim (August 1, 2013). "This Machine Kills Fascists pedals". TYM Guitars.
  10. ↑ "My Computer Just Got So Much More Awesome". John Green Tumblr. October 25, 2011.
  11. ↑ New Albanian Brewing Company Store Website
  12. ↑ This Machine Kills Hate - NCECA Blog
  13. ↑ Busdriver - This Machine Kills Fashion Tips on Discogs.net
  14. ↑ This Machine on Scout Rifle
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