Wilco

"The Jolly Banker" (Woody Guthrie cover)

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Oct 24, 2011

Following the recent release of The Whole Love, Wilco are once again paying tribute to folk hero Woody Guthrie. On their website, the band have shared a new version of the Guthrie song "The Jolly Banker."

Speaking to Kai Ryssdal of the Public Radio show Marketplace [via the Anti- blog], singer Jeff Tweedy had this to say about the cover:

A couple of months ago when things really started to get hairy financially and economically for the country, that song had begun to get a little bit of attention. And (Woody's daughter Nora) felt like somebody was going to cover it and she called us because she wanted it to be us. I think it's geared towards increasing an awareness of what sometimes people miss when they're being preyed upon. Sometimes people don't seem to be able to get that because they're blinded by their desire to have the new car or whatever.

You can listen to Wilco's "The Jolly Banker" here

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