Riot-folk artist Ryan Harvey has teamed up with legendary singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco and Tom Morello (Prophets of Rage, Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave) to produce a toe-tapping, catchy as hell folk punk original from “lost” and recently rediscovered and previously unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyrics, “Old Man Trump.” Although Woody was referring to Donald’s father Fred, a real estate mogul once sued for violating the Fair Housing Act, it seems that the saying “like father, like son” certainly applies here.  “Old Man Trump” is available for purchase on iTunes.

 

The name “Trump” stirs up a lot of feelings. Apparently, that’s not a sentiment unique to this decade. Over fifty years ago, world renowned folk singer and political activist Woody Guthrie penned a protest song about his racist landlord, who profited off the construction and rental of “low-income” housing projects in New York, with one stipulation: he was bent on avoiding "inharmonious uses of housing”—fancy lingo for keeping these housing developments racially segregated. Who was that landlord? Fred Trump, father of fellow real estate mogul and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. So when Donald Trump says that “my legacy is my father’s legacy,” THIS is the legacy to which he refers.

 

“Old Man Trump” was recently rediscovered by Will Kaufman, a professor at the UK’s University of Lancashire, on a visit to the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The song had sat, unrecorded, in his notebook for the next 66 years. Now, as the new old man Trump is once again using hate to stir people up for all the wrong reasons, Ryan Harvey, joined by Ani DiFranco and Tom Morello, and with the approval of Woody Guthrie Publications, have recorded Woody's words from all those years ago, which unfortunately, could just as easily have been written yesterday:

“I suppose Old Man Trump knows, Just how much  Racial Hate He stirred up In the bloodpot of human hearts”

Copyright 2016 Ryan Harvey/Woody Guthrie Publications

 

Political activism is nothing new for Harvey. From Baltimore, Maryland, site of the recent uprisings over of the police murder of Freddie Gray, he’s toured across the US, Europe, and the Middle East performing in the epicenters of recent uprisings including Cairo, Athens, Madrid, Reykjavík, and Lisbon. With the unplugged story-telling of traditional American folk music and the compassionate alarm of early political punk, Ryan Harvey is situated between the streets, the barricades, the radical bookstores and cafes, and the DIY basement show. Organizing with those involved with direct action on the ground, Ryan recently spent time in Lesvos, Greece carrying out refugee search, rescue and relief.

 

In June 2015, Harvey launched Firebrand Records with Tom Morello to build a platform for radical political artists globally. Morello has also recently been making headlines for his work with new group Prophets of Rage, which combines Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine with Chuck D and DJ Lord of Public Enemy and B-Real of Cypress Hill.  The group is setting off on the  national “Make America Rage Again” tour this summer.

 

Singer-songwriter and feminist icon Ani DiFranco is on the road on her “VOTE DAMMIT” tour, which runs now through November 2016. Matching the current political climate in the United States, DiFranco is using her tour and her music to encourage fans to have their voices be heard not in just the presidential election, but the congressional elections as well.

 

It has never been more urgent for Americans to take a stand against hatred and bigotry, and these artists are leading the way. Together, we can make sure that no one else will have to sing this song in another fifty years.

 

Proceeds from the track will go to CK Team Relief, a coalition of independent volunteers directly working with refugees, and the Baltimore Right to Housing Alliance, a human rights organization led by low-income residents working to elevate housing to the level of a human right. “Old Man Trump” is available for purchase on iTunes.

 

Catch Ryan Harvey + more LIVE:

July 5 – Baltimore, MD – Bmore On Fire: Firebrand Showcase @ The Crown

July 15 – St. Louis, MO – Netroots Conference

July 23 – Denver, CO – Rock Against the TPP @ Summit Music Hall

July 25 – Philadelphia, PA – Bern B(A)sh @ FDR Skatepark