"California Stars" was written by Woody Guthrie, but unfortunately, he died before he could actually set music to it. Billy Bragg collaborated with Wilco to find a melody that would suit the song. I'm always impressed when artists write lyrics before coming up with a tune because I find it easier to do the opposite. Whenever I attempt to set poetry to melodies, I usually run into some problem such as not having enough syllables in a line.
My brother and I created a slide show for our sister and brother-in-law's wedding last year and used "California Stars" as one of the background tracks, since our brother-in-law happens to be from California. Plus, we found the lyrics "they hang like grapes on vines that shine" to be more than appropriate because his family owns a Vineyard out in Napa).
Listen to it here.
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