Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

Just after World War II, Woody Guthrie lived with his wife and children in Coney Island, and he wrote a series of children's songs. This one beautifully articulates his belief in the connectedness of all working people. In this key-of-A version, the solo is typical Travis-style fingerpicking, with the thumb playing alternating bass notes on all four downbeats of each bar while the fingers pick melody on the high strings. During the accompaniment to the vocal, there are two patterns: During the verse, the thumb plays the 1st and 3rd beats of each bar, alternating between two bass notes, while the fingers fill out the rhythm as seen in the first two bars of the verse. During the chorus, there's a more typical fingerpicking pattern (look at bars 3 and 4 of the chorus) with occasional bass runs thrown in.