Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912 - October 3, 1967) was a prolific American folk musician. He described himself in one of his songs as "The Great Historical Bum", a first hand observer and survivor of the economic and environmental hardships of the great plains states during the great depression. Guthrie's body of music consists of hundreds of songs, ballads and improvised works. The breadth of his song topics ranged from the political and traditional songs to children's songs.