Along the way, characters are forced into theft, murder, and unbearable hardship against a biblical backdrop of the American West. Hugely influential, Dust Bowl Ballads has been revered by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. In Hard Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People, Steinbeck wrote of Guthrie: "Harsh voiced and nasal, his guitar hanging like a tire iron on a rusty rim, there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of the people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit."
Side A
1 The Great Dust Storm (Dust Storm Disaster)
2 Talking Dust Bowl Blues
3 Pretty Boy Floyd
4 Dusty Old Dust (So Long, It's Been Good To Know You)
5 Dust Bowl Blues
6 Blowin' Down The Road (I Ain't Going To Be Treated This Way)
7 Tom Joad Pt. 1
Side B
1 Tom Joad Pt. 2
2 Do Re Mi
3 Dust Bowl Refugee
4 I Ain't Got No Home
5 Vigilante Man
6 Dust Can't Kill Me
7 Dust Pneumonia Blues