The past is strapped to our backs...

life:

The one, the only… Woody Guthrie.
In 1943, the modern-day troubadour and national treasure, Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie, was about to publish his now-classic, semi-fictionalized autobiography, Bound for Glory, in which he wrote vibrantly about his childhood, his love of American folk songs, and his epic travels as a freight car-hopping hobo.
On assignment for LIFE in 1943, photographer Eric Schaal followed Guthrie as he gave impromptu performances around New York — in bars, on the stoops of brownstones, on the subway. Engaging, charming, and at ease, the Woody Guthrie in these photos is exactly where he most liked to be: among the people, guitar in hand.

The one, the only… Woody Guthrie.

In 1943, the modern-day troubadour and national treasure, Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie, was about to publish his now-classic, semi-fictionalized autobiography, Bound for Glory, in which he wrote vibrantly about his childhood, his love of American folk songs, and his epic travels as a freight car-hopping hobo.

On assignment for LIFE in 1943, photographer Eric Schaal followed Guthrie as he gave impromptu performances around New York — in bars, on the stoops of brownstones, on the subway. Engaging, charming, and at ease, the Woody Guthrie in these photos is exactly where he most liked to be: among the people, guitar in hand.