"I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore"

"If you want folks to sing along it helps if they already know the music . . . maybe even some of the words, too." - Woody Guthrie

If gov means to govern and ment means mental
You mean to govern my mind and that ain’t accidental
If fear’s the epidemic then bravery’s the cure
And I ain’t got no home in this world anymore

I ain’t got no home, I’m just a roamin’ round
Just a wanderin’ worker, I go from town to town
Thought police make it hard wherever I may go
And I ain’t got no home in this world anymore

Friends of all my life now throw me under the bus
Those who once preached unity now scream “them and us”
This toxic cancel culture is rotten to the core
And I ain’t got no home in this world anymore

(chorus)

To speak of health and wellness is the tallest order of all
And some who practice medicine are the sickest of us all
My body is my ballot and my guitar is my sword
And I ain’t got no home in this world anymore

Words by Mike Merenda, sung to the melody of Woody Guthrie’s “I Ain’t Got No Home”

Halloween 2021, Kingston, NY

We’ve been blessed to have had a close relationship with the Guthrie family over the years, growing from our friendship with Woody’s granddaughter, Sarah Lee, leading to The Mammals backing up Arlo Guthrie on his 40th anniversary of “Alice’s Restaurant” tour, and culminating in two Woody collaborations, “My New York City” and “Born to Win” (lyrics from Woody’s extensive archives set to music by Ruthy and myself - videos below!)

Last July, in commemoration of his birthday, I took a crack at articulating what Woody means to me in an essay published on Folk Alley which you can read at the link below.

I’m actually quite proud of this piece considering how many needles I had to thread in order to represent my truth for an audience that is almost certainly not on the same page as me in terms of current events.

By the way: thank you, subscribers, for being here. Having this space and community of readers means a heck of a lot to me. Enjoy.

- mike