Pretty Boy Floyd

I’m working on a sermon on theft, and well one thing led to another, and I ended up listening to Woody Guthrie’s “Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd.”

Now, I’m inclined to think Pretty Boy was a sociopath. But for Guthrie he becomes a stand in for those who suffered at the hands of the rich.

And stand up to the system.

In that spirit I recall in my childhood how my grandmother, a native of Missouri, would tell me the James boys were really just folk persecuted by the bankers, who were the real villains…

It’s a recurring theme in our culture.

And one with more than a seed of truth to it…

As Guthrie’s song put it

And as through your life you travel
Yes, as through your life you roam
you won’t never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home

There’ve been any number of covers. Personally I’m partial to the one by the Boss.

But here’s another by the Byrds dressed up with a scene from a movie…