Bruce On The Loose Part 2

It's 12.10pm in Austin, Texas and the Springsteen keynote speech has yet to begin. Still, the wait has been beautifully spent in the company of Jimmy LaFave, Eliza Gilkyson and Colombian artiste Juanes. The uniting factor is their love for Woody Guthrie, 1912-1967, one of the most formidable songwriters in the American canon, whose opinions, humour and anger still ring out in the year of his centenary.

Here's Norah, Woody's daughter, introducing the event, explaining how they will take her dad's message back across the States, from California to the New York Island. And then Jimmy and Eliza demonstrate the awesome value of the work, summoning up the perennial plight of the immigrants, the exiles and the victims. Jimmy puts a verse back into 'Oklahoma Hills', remembering the five Indian tribes who endured the Trail Of Tears'. Eliza summons up 'Deportees' and it's an astonishing piece of emotion and dread. She puts a fresh mention of Monsanto into 'I Ain't Got No Home' but that's fine. You can take a few liberties. Nora is cool about this.

"She doesn't get all folk-noncy on you," says Jimmy.

"Nor Mighty Wind", says Eliza.

We all get to sing 'This Land Is Your Land'. I see the smiling profile of Nora and she looks so like her dad. Further left, Miami Steve from the E Street Band is smiling. No Bruce yet, but hey, we'll not complain for now.