"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a song by Bruce Springsteen, inspired by John Steinbeck's classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath and by "The Ballad of Tom Joad" by Woody Guthrie.
The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of Tom Joad and his family as they travel from Oklahoma to California in the midst of the Great Depression. Their crops have been destroyed in the Dust Bowl and as a result, the family has lost their farm. Spurred on by leaflets promising plentiful high paying jobs in California, the family is instead met with violence, repression, and crooked bosses paying starvation wages.
This blog, The Ghost of Tom Joad, stands with the struggles of the poor and oppressed. We salute and seek to work in solidarity with all who fight to break the chains of poverty, repression, racism, sexism, homophobia, and war.
The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics)
