Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

In the late 1930s, when Woody Guthrie had his own daily radio show, he was sitting on a porch strumming his guitar when a young boy asked him where he was from. His off-hand answer, "I was born in the Oklahoma Hills," sparked this tune, which later became a country music hit for his brother Jack. In this key-of-C fingerpicking arrangement, the thumb plays alternating bass notes, Travis style, while the fingers pick melody on the high strings, or (during the accompaniment) play occasional high notes to fill out the rhythm. The first few bars of the back-up part illustrate this style.