"This machine kills fascists" is a message that American musician
Woody Guthrie placed on his guitar in the mid 1940s, starting in 1943.[1]
Conception
Circa 1943, in the midst of
World War II, Guthrie wrote the war song "Talking
Hitler's Head Off
Blues." This was printed in the Daily Worker, a newspaper published by the
Communist Party USA. Then, according to biographer Anne E. Neimark, "In a fit of patriotism and faith in the impact of the song, he painted on his guitar THIS MACHINE KILLS
FASCISTS."[2]
Guthrie's stance against fascism
In Guthrie's
opposition to fascism, he conceptualized the ideology "as a form of economic exploitation similar to
slavery," straightforwardly denouncing the fascists – particularly their leaders (
dictators) – as a group of gangsters who set out to "rob the world."[3] This recalled a protest strategy he had used "during the
Great Depression, when social, political, and
economic inequality had been engendered by a small rich elite."[3] During that era, Guthrie had "romanticized the deeds of outlaws such as
Jesse James,
Pretty Boy Floyd,
Calamity Jane or the
Dalton Gang both as legitimate acts of social responsibility and as 'the ultimate expression of protest,' thus transforming the outlaw into an archetypal partisan in a fight against those who were held responsible for the worsening social and economic conditions."[3]
In this, Guthrie cast those opposing fascism not as mere outlaws in a fascist state, but as heroes rising "in times of economic turmoil and social disintegration" to fight "a highly illegitimate criminal endeavor intended to exploit the common people."[3] Guthrie portrayed these characters as something larger than merely "dumb gangsters," while his lyricism also "externalized the inhuman element of fascism by describing its representatives as animals that were usually held in very low esteem and were associated with a range of bad character traits."[3] For example, he talked about the "Nazi Snake" that has to be countered in his song "Talking Hitler's Head Off Blues".[3] Guthrie would declare "[a]nything human is anti Hitler" and in his song "You Better Get Ready" he has the figure of
Satan declare that "Old
Hell just ain't the same/Compared to Hitler, hell, I'm tame!"[3] Guthrie saw the battle against fascism as the ultimate battle of good versus evil. In a letter to "Railroad Pete" he stated "fascism and freedom are the only two sides battling ... [this was the war] the world has been waiting on for twenty five million years ... [which would] settle the score once and for all."[3]
Legacy
(Top)
Colin Huggins's grand piano and (bottom)
Hank Green's guitar have messages inspired by Guthrie.
Likewise, John's brother and vlogbrothers co-host
Hank Green released an album titled This Machine Pwns N00bs in 2009, with the Guthrie's original slogan translated into
leetspeak.[7] As shown on the album cover and in many videos on YouTube, Hank also has an acoustic guitar with this version of the slogan painted on it in the style of Guthrie.[8]
Guitarist
Tom Morello of
Rage Against the Machine was inspired by Guthrie to put a slogan on every guitar he owns like "Arm The Homeless," "Soul Power," "Sendero Luminoso," and many more.[9][10][11]
Donovan put the message "This machine kills" on his guitar, leaving off the word "fascists"; he explained in his autobiography, "I dropped the last word, thinking fascism was already dead."[13]
Pittsburgh-based Punk band
Anti-Flag's 2001 album Underground Network includes a song entitled "This Machine Kills Fascists"[15]
Musician
Julien Baker had a sticker reading "This Machine Kills Sadness" on her acoustic guitar in reference to Guthrie, although she later removed it. She further references him in a tattoo and in the song "Guthrie" from the EP B-Sides.[16]
Musician
Rob Baker of the group
The Tragically Hip has "This Machine Kills Facists" on his acoustic guitar in the official video for Bobcaygeon[17]