Live 29 Sep 1996 version
| Arlo Guthrie (spoken): | Are we here? |
| All (spoken): | Yep! |
| Billy Bragg (spoken): | Guess so. |
| Arlo Guthrie (spoken): | Yeah? Alright! |
| Arlo Guthrie: | I been doing some hard travelin', I thought you'd know |
| I been doing some hard travelin' way down the road | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin' | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | I been ridin' them fast rattlers, I thought you'd know |
| I been ridin' them flat-wheelers way down the road | |
| Yeah, I been ridin' them blind passengers, dead enders, kickin' up cinders | |
| I been havin' some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Dave Pirner: | I been doing some hard travelin', I thought you'd know |
| I been doing some hard travelin' way down the road | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin' | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Joe Ely: | I been hitting some hard rock mining, I thought you'd know |
| I been leanin' on a pressure drill way down the road | |
| Hammer flyin', air hose suckin', six foot of mud, and I sure been a-muckin' | |
| I been hittin' some hard travelin', Lord, whoah! | |
| Ani DiFranco: | I been hittin' some hard harvestin', I thought you'd know |
| North Dakota to Kansas City way down the road | |
| Cuttin' that hay, making that hay, tryin' to make about a dollar a day | |
| I been havin' some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Joe MacDonald: | I been doing some hard travelin', I thought you'd know |
| I been doing some hard travelin' way down the road | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin' | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Billy Bragg: | I been workin' at Pittsburgh Steel, I thought you'd know |
| I been workin' that red-hot slag way down the road | |
| I been blastin', I been firin', I been pourin' red-hot iron | |
| I been havin' some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Emily Saliers: | Well, I've been layin' in a hard rock jail, I thought you'd know |
| I been laying there ninety days way down the road | |
| Hello Judge, you sentenced me to ninety days for vagrancy | |
| And I been travelin' hard, Lord, whoah! | |
| Ramblin' Jack Elliott: | I been walkin' that Lincoln Highway, I thought you knowed |
| I been inching on sixty-six way down the road, not kidding you | |
| Heavy load and a worried mind, lookin' for a woman it's a-hard to find | |
| I been doin' some hard travelin', Lord | |
| All: | I been doing some hard travelin', I thought you'd know |
| I been doing some hard travelin' way down the road | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin' | |
| I been doing some hard travelin', Lord | |
| Whoah! | |
| Someone onstage (spoken): | Ha ha ha. Ha ha! |
HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY is a song by Woody Guthrie. See the original Woody Guthrie version for more details.
The above lyrics are for the live 29 Sep 1996 performance of HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH, during a Woody Guthrie tribute concert. The song was played with the concert's all-cast. This live 29 Sep 1996 version of HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY was officially released in 2000 on the various artists album 'Til We Outnumber 'Em.
In September 1996 Cleveland's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum and Case Western Reserve University cohosted "Hard Travelin': The Life And Legacy Of Woody Guthrie", a 10-day conference of panel sessions, lectures, and concerts to remember, honor, and celebrate the songs of Woody Guthrie. The conference became the first in what would become the museum's annual American Music Masters Series conference.
The conference concluded on 29 Sep 1996 with an all-star tribute concert at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH. Billed "Hard Travelin': A Benefit Concert", the Sunday night concert was a collaboration between the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum and the Woody Guthrie Archives. It was hosted by Tim Robbins and featured several performers who came to pay tribute to Woody Guthrie, including Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco, and David Priner.
The first six songs feature Springsteen solo or in the lead role while the last four songs feature Springsteen in a support/background role.
In 2000, Ani DiFranco's record label, Righteous Babe, released a selection of 11 songs from the Severance Hall concert, along with snippets of spoken words by and about Guthrie from the conference, on the various artists Woody Guthrie tribute album 'Til We Outnumber 'Em. DiFranco produced and mixed the album, with proceeds going to benefit the Woodiy Guthrie Archives. Bruce Springsteen appears on four songs on the album: HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY, RIDING IN MY CAR, PLANE WRECK AT LOS GATOS (DEPORTEE), and THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND.
Nora Guthrie, the curator of her father's archives, told Backstreets magazine, "I had been trying to get a couple of record labels to record the concert, because I had a feeling it was going to be something really special. And everyone was rejecting me, telling me I didn't have a show." According to her, the assistance of Springsteen and his entire sound and lighting crew, as well as the persistence, tenacity and funding of Ani DiFranco and her manager Scott Fisher, made it possible. "We were taping the show, thanks to Bruce," Guthrie explained, "who had given us all of his sound equipment and technicians to use. He brought his whole crew, and they did the lighting, the sound. They did everything. It would have cost us a lot of money. I can't tell you how much money he saved us. He basically produced the show. And a light bulb went off, and I realized that this was going to be such an incredible night, and we owned the tapes. As soon as the concert was over I ran to Ani and from that moment, we knew this was going to be a CD."
HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY was performed off-tour on 29 Sep 1996 at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH, during a Woody Guthrie tribute concert. The song was played with the concert's all-cast. This live 29 Sep 1996 version of HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY was officially released in 2000 on the various artists album 'Til We Outnumber 'Em.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
I am not certain that the artists trading verses are correctly listed in the lyrics above ─ I was just using my ears and I have no confirmation. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY on this website:
HARD TRAVELIN' HOOTENANNY [Live 29 Sep 1996 version]