In 1936, during the height of the Great Depression, Woody Guthrie [David Carradine] plays his guitar at a roadside gas station. A curious customer offers a dollar to anyone who can ease his worries, and Guthrie rises to the challenge with a thoughtful, heartfelt answer that resonates with him and the crowd. Buoyed by this small moment of connection, he turns his attention to a new task—painting a sign—yet his enthusiasm rides roughshod over his wife, Mary Guthrie [Melinda Dillon], and their precarious finances. Rather than continuing the sign, Guthrie dives back into music, leaving Mary to cope with the family’s fragile income.
From there, the film follows Guthrie through a string of small, defining moments. At a local bar, he performs for a woman named Sue Ann and spends the night with her, while later on the porch he meets Heavy Chandler, a recently released mental patient, encouraging him to vent his thoughts through painting. After a square dance, a dust storm drives everyone indoors, and Guthrie suggests to Mary that he should head out again to seek work, ultimately departing with only a note to mark his exit.
The journey pushes Guthrie onto trains and into the lives of other hobos. He rides with Slim Snedeger and others, but a sudden altercation forces him to jump to a different train; when the rail guards force those without money off, Guthrie continues on foot as Slim finds a way ahead. A later encounter with a middle‑class couple that offers a ride ends poorly, and Guthrie ends up in a bar again, earning a meal and a night with a waitress before joining a family headed for California—only to be turned away at the border when they’re asked for fifty dollars.
Seeking work, Guthrie finds himself at a nearby hobo camp, where he meets Luther and Liz Johnson, a migrant couple struggling to find steady employment. The conditions are harsh and pay is meager, so Guthrie offers to paint a sign at a soup kitchen, receiving only a bowl of soup in return. The visit of Ozark Bule, a union organizer, marks a turning point as Guthrie witnesses the power of collective action, songs that speak to the laboring masses, and the clash with company thugs that follows.
With Ozark’s help, Guthrie lands a radio job that gives his working‑class anthems a wider audience. Yet the station owner, Mr. Locke, insists Guthrie keep his material light and avoid union topics. Guthrie initially agrees but soon returns to protest songs, clashing with the boss and losing his slot. He brings Mary and their children to Los Angeles, but the glittering city life around them makes him feel like an outsider. Luther’s bruised face and his words about how Guthrie’s songs lift workers fuel a growing resolve in him to stay true to his voice.
Frustration boils over as Guthrie tears up a list of “safe” songs, exits the studio, and resumes performing at migrant camps and factories. At a fruit-packing plant, he is assaulted by company enforcers who break his guitar, yet he presses on, boarding trains to travel and perform wherever there is need. When Locke offers one final chance in Los Angeles, Guthrie is terminated again after dedicating a song to farm workers.
Mary and the children have left him behind, and an agent arranges a coast‑to‑coast radio show along with an audition at the Ambassador Hotel. The hotel owner offers a contract, but only if Guthrie wears overalls and is presented as part of a hillbilly act. Refusing to play to the wealthy’s fantasies, Guthrie walks out, returns to the railroad yard, and climbs onto a train once more. From the top of a boxcar, he resumes singing protest songs, staying grounded in his roots and ideals as he continues to speak for the workers who inspired him.
