Im Mai 1941 packte Woody Guthrie seine Frau Mary und seine drei Kinder in seinen alten Pontiac und zog von Californien nach Portland, Oregon. Dort hatte er einen Job angenommen bei der Bonneville Power Administration. Er sollte die Filmmusik für einen Dokumentarfilm über den Bau des Staudamms am Columbia River schreiben. Als Woody nun mit Familie und Gitarre angereist war, gab ihm die BPA einen Contract über 30 Tage. Sogar die Höhe seines damaligen Honorars ist bekannt: 266 Dollar pro Monat. Woody schrieb 26 Songs in 30 Tagen, die bekanntesten davon sind The Grand Coulee Dam, Jackhammer John, Green Pastures Of Plenty und Roll On Columbia.
ROLL ON COLUMBIA
by Woody Guthrie, tune Good Night Irene
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Green Douglas first where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on
Other great rivers add power to you
Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too
Sandy Willamette and Hood River too
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Tom Jefferson's vision would not let him rest
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
It's there on your banks that we fought many a fight
Sheridan's boys in the blockhouse that night
They saw us in death but never in flight
So roll on Columbia, roll on
At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam
The mightiest thing ever built by a man
To run the great factories and water the land
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
These mighty men labored by day and by night
Matching their strength 'gainst the river's wild flight
Through rapids and falls, they won the hard fight
So roll on, Columbia, roll on