Talking hitler's head off blues lyrics

Slogan coined by Woody Guthrie

"This machine kills fascists" is a message that American musician Woody Guthrie placed on his guitar in the mid-1940s, starting in 1943.^[1]

The idea originated from a sticker that American machinists affixed to metalworking lathes and drill presses to support the war effort.^[2]

Conception

Circa 1943, in the midst of World War II, Guthrie wrote the war song "Talking Hitler's Head Off Blues." This was printed in the Daily Worker, a newspaper published by the Communist Party USA.

Then, according to biographer Anne E. Neimark, "In a fit of patriotism and faith in the impact of the song, he painted on his guitar THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS."^[3]

Guthrie's stance against fascism

In Guthrie's opposition to fascism, he conceptualized the ideology "as a form of economic exploitation similar to slavery," straightforwardly denouncing the fascists – particularly their leaders (dictators) –