Analysis Of The Song Dust Bowl Refugee

“Dust Bowl Refugee” is a song written by Woody Guthrie concerning the struggles of migrants, particularly those trying to escape the economic and ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl this is certainly an appropriate song for discussing class and social identity of a Southern community effected by migration, because although Southern identity is not directly referenced in the song, many Southerners experienced the kinds of things to which this song refers. It affected the entire nation and created its own sort of demographic with Southern elements being an important part in this history. in terms of this song dealing with migration, it tells the story of a phenomenon that had to do with two major migrations, the settling of the plains
It was appropriately named because it the region had become almost a desert. Dust storms were frequent and harsh and they significantly defined life for the people in that region. Settlers in this region removed the native prairie grasses and plowed the soil in order to farm crops such as wheat. Unfortunately, in addition to the people overtaxing the land by growing the same crops over and over and not letting the land rest an replenish itself, the act of removing the prairie grass itself messed up the ecosystem. The grass there prevented the soil from being picked up by the regular heavy winds. () says that it was a natural adaptation for that environment. The removal of these grasses is the main reason for the severity of dust storms. During this time period, people simply made too many materialist decisions with a lack of foresight they found profit in wheat during the 1920s, so they kept growing it. When the depression hit, its value dropped and their primitive solution was to grow more, however, this just kept worsening