Ok. Making this a text post. But if you just want to hear song here it is.
Ok. Hear me out. Some context first. Guthrie grew up without cars primarily (given Oklahoma at the time); and his parents likely being one of the many in that time that hated cars taking over their streets; and most of all polluting the environment with their noise; he likely grew up experiencing that transition and also his parents likely criticism of it. Ok, bad run on sentence but that’s his basic background.
I think even we today take for granted how peaceful, calm, and better a world is without cars. Guthrie apparently wrote this song for an album for kids. But given his always “tongue in cheek” style and very strong left leaning political views. I think this song is literally mocking (1) the kids of rich “well off” people from Guthrie’s generation that were using cars to ‘show off’ and (2) the obsolute absurdity of anyone thinking the car farts were cool.
Just wondering if anyone listened to this song and thought the same. I can’t find anyone actually taking this song seriously since it was written. But Guthrie has other songs written for children that people have taken double meaning from.
I was convinced of this by the time I heard him make the horn sound of the car. Maybe listen to other Guthrie songs. But that almost “dying/obnoxious” noise he made was telling.