''Man in the Sand'' is a 1999 documentary that functions as both a biography of American folk singer-songwriter

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

and a chronicle of the creation of the

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

''Mermaid Avenue'' albums ('' Vol. I'' (1998), '' Vol. II'' (2000), and '' Vol. III'' (2012)), which feature songs consisting of previously-unheard

lyrics set to newly-created music.

Synopsis

In 1995, Nora Guthrie asked English singer-songwriter

to create music to accompany lyrics written by her father,

, decades earlier, and record an album. Bragg invited American band

to back him on the recordings, and

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

and

Jay Bennett Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Wilco from 1994 to 2001. Biography Early life and work with Wilco Jay ...

from the band wrote music for additional Guthrie lyrics. Throughout the film, Nora narrates the story of her father's life, while Bragg is seen traveling to various locations relevant to Woody Guthrie's life, such as Okemah, Oklahoma (his hometown),

Pampa, Texas Pampa (from the Quechua: ''pampa'', meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolita ...

(where he met his first wife), and New York City (where he made his home after leaving California). Much time is also spent at the recording sessions with Bragg and Wilco in Chicago (December 1997) and Dublin (January 1998), and with Bragg and

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first seven albums before ...

in Boston (March 1998), that produced most of the tracks for all three albums.

Corey Harris Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acousti ...

also participated in the recording.

Music

The following songs are featured in the film (in order of appearance): * "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" – Words:

(1946); Music:

(1997) * "California Stars" – Words: Guthrie; Music:

(1997) * "

This Land Is Your Land "This Land Is Your Land" is a song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. One of the United States' most famous folk songs, its lyrics were written in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's " God Bless America". Its melody is based on a ...

" – Words & Music: Guthrie * " Pastures of Plenty" – Words & Music: Guthrie * " I Ain't Got No Home" – Words & Music: Guthrie * "Here Comes the Train" – Words & Music:

(1998) * "

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

" – Words: Guthrie (1950); Music: Bragg (1996) * "

Ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

" – Words & Music: Bragg (1986) * " Between the Wars" – Words & Music: Bragg (1985) * "She Came Along to Me" – Words: Guthrie (1942); Music: Bragg/Tweedy/Bennett (1998) * "Go Down to the Water" – Words: Guthrie (1945); Music: Bragg (1997) * "Feed of Man" – Words: Guthrie; Music: Tweedy (1998) * "Birds and Ships" – Words: Guthrie; Music: Bragg (1997) * "Birds and Ships" – Words: Guthrie; Music: Tweedy (1997) * "All You Fascists" – Words: Guthrie (1942); Music: Bragg (1997) * "When the Roses Bloom Again" – Words: Will D. Cobb (1901); Music: Tweedy * "The Unwelcome Guest" – Words: Guthrie (1940); Music: Bragg (1996) * "I Was Born" – Words: Guthrie (1950); Music: Bragg (1996) * "At My Window Sad and Lonely" – Words: Guthrie (1939); Music: Tweedy (1997) * "Another Man's Done Gone" – Words: Guthrie; Music: Bragg (1998) * "Hoodoo Voodoo" – Words: Guthrie; Music:

/Bragg/Harris The VHS release of the film came with a CD titled Mermaid Avenue' Demo's'', which consisted of five of Bragg's demo recordings for the project (these recordings were also included on the DVD release of the film): #"Birds and Ships" #"She Came Along to Me" #"I Guess I Planted" #"Eisler on the Go" #"The Unwelcome Guest" (All songs: words by Guthrie & music by Bragg)

References

External links

*
Official Website

www.woodyguthrie.org/

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man In The Sand Rockumentaries Woody Guthrie 1999 films Wilco Billy Bragg 1990s English-language films

Synopsis

Music

See also

References

External links