Words & Music ©2000 by Rik Palieri

Old Rosalie, came calling to me,
one night when the chilly winds blew
Tattered and small, this old black rag doll,
spoke with a voice Woody knew

I'll always be your Rosalie,
come hold me in your strong arms
Whisper to me a lost memory
I'll keep you safe  and warm

Chocolate brown face, stringy black hair
dressed in an old cotton gown
a present from Martha, Leadbelly's wife
for Cathy, in old New York town

I'll always be your Rosalie,
come hold me in your strong arms
Whisper to me a lost memory
I'll keep you safe and  warm

Now, Woody was tough, in his life seen enough
of hard luck, trouble and pain.
with a smirk or a grin, he held it all in
then  hit the  old road once again.

But, the day Cathy died, he just laid down and cried
and dried his tears in the sand
that night that he wept, he would never forget
when  he held on to Rosalie's hand

Oh Rosalie, I'll always be
safe in your black loving arms
Whisper to me a lost memory
I'll keep you safe  and warm

I'll always be your Rosalie,
come hold me in your strong arms
Whisper to me a lost memory
I'll keep you safe  and warm

Old Rosalie, came calling to me,
one night when the chilly winds blew.

While visiting the Woody Guthrie exhibit “This Land Is Your Land” at the New York City museum, I came across an old black rag doll, sitting in an exhibit case next to a few of Woodys personal possessions from the house on Mermaid Ave. There was something spiritual about this doll as if she was sending out a message directly to me. Later Nora Guthrie came to the museum do a special talk about the exhibit. When we came to the case with the doll, she told us that the doll “Rosalie” was given to Woody and Marjorie and was made by Martha Leadbelly’s wife for the birth of their first baby Cathy. She then said that after Cathy’s tragic death that Rosalie became Woody’s doll and was always a part of the Guthrie tribe.
As I rode back to New Jersey on the train, these words came to me.