Arlo Guthrie

We live in an increasingly sophisticated world that makes it difficult to make simple comments on stuff. There are too many people on both sides of the border who are taking advantage of circumstances and the situation.

With the advent of radio and recording, music became an industry rather than just a tradition.

Along with a sense of humor, my songs have to be sincere, and they have to be sung from a position of inner conviction.

I've written quite a variety of songs, everything from kids songs to political satire, and my dad covered a fairly large range, also.

Basically, I think you need two things to get by in this world: a sense of humor and the ability to laugh when your ego is destroyed.

I left the entertainment industry part of my life behind in 1983, when we decided not to work with major record companies anymore.

Yes, I was born in Coney Island. The Holy Land.

My dad's songs were really written to make certain people feel as though they had some kind of value. Because they were told from where they work and from the countries they had immigrated from that they did not.