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THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND: THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG  
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The Kennedy Center
January 6, 2015
The Kennedy Center
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_ Today, this classic folk song is usually sung as a popular
pro-America anthem by Americans of every background. But it was
written to have a radical edge that hollered for the country to make
its bounty available to rich and poor alike. _

Woody Guthrie,

 

Folk singer Woody Guthrie was sick of THAT song. The year was 1939,
and everywhere he wandered, “God Bless America
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was playing on the radio. It was driving Guthrie nutty. Guthrie felt
that Irving Berlin’s song was too sappy, too blindly patriotic, and
too cut off from the hard-knock life many Americans were facing as the
Great Depression dragged into its 10th year. Guthrie knew firsthand
how tough life could be for poor folks. Since his teens, he had hopped
trains and hitchhiked back and forth across the country. He shared the
road with former farmers, laid-off factory workers, and migrants
chasing hopes of work. Along the way, he chronicled their adventures,
dreams, and sorrows in song.

In February 1940, Guthrie decided to fight music with music. In
reaction to “God Bless America,” he worked up a simple song that
tried to capture his love of the American landscape. At the same time,
he wanted to point out that a lot of Americans weren’t feeling
blessed at all.

This is the story behind “This Land is Your Land.” 

“This Land is Your Land”
_by Woody Guthrie  _

_This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me._

_As I was walking that ribbon of highway, 
I saw above me that endless skyway: 
I saw below me that golden valley: 
This land was made for you and me. _

_I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 
And all around me a voice was sounding: 
This land was made for you and me. _

_When the sun came shining, and I was strolling, 
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, 
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: 
This land was made for you and me. _

_As I went walking I saw a sign there 
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." 
But on the other side it didn't say nothing, 
That side was made for you and me. _

_In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple, 
By the relief office I seen my people; 
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking 
Is this land made for you and me? _

_Nobody living can ever stop me, 
As I go walking that freedom highway; 
Nobody living can ever make me turn back 
This land was made for you and me. _

Woody Guthrie

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born in the small town of Okemah, Oklahoma,
on July 14, 1912. Named for the soon-to-be-elected Democratic
candidate for president, Guthrie remembered an early boyhood full of
music, singing, and plenty of pocket money. His dad was a successful
real estate wheeler-dealer. The Guthries were the first people in town
to own a car.

Tragedy and trouble began to mount after 1919. Guthrie’s sister died
in a fire and his dad’s business collapsed. His mom had a nervous
breakdown and was committed to the state mental hospital. He and his
brother were left to fend for themselves.

The teenager began to travel the country, strumming his guitar and
singing for coins. As he wandered, he became increasingly critical of
the injustice he associated with American capitalism. He was drawn
toward the plight of American workers and embraced socialist beliefs.
During World War II, though, he served in the Merchant Marine and U.S.
Army. He entertained sailors and troops with songs blasting fascism,
the brutal, nationalistic system of government operated by Germany’s
Adolf Hitler and Italy’s Benito Mussolini.

Guthrie viewed folk music as a potent means of protest. About his
writing and singing he said:

_"I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your
world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a
dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are
built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself
and in your work. And the songs that I sing are made up for the most
part by all sorts of folks just about like you."_

Guthrie died of Huntington’s disease in 1967, but not before
inspiring a new generation of singer/songwriters including Ramblin’
Jack Elliot, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen.

Lost Verses

Guthrie originally titled the song “God Blessed America For
Me”—words that also served as the last line of each verse. He
meant it as a slap at Berlin’s hit number, making it clear that he
didn’t think God was the solution to America’s problems.

By the time he debuted the song on his weekly radio show in 1944,
Guthrie had revised the title to “This Land is Your Land.” He
reworked the last line of each verse to a friendlier, “This land was
made for you and me.” He also nixed the two most controversial
verses, verses that accused the American system of business of greed
and disregard for the needy.

As I went walking I saw a sign there 
And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.” 
But on the other side it didn't say nothing, 
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, 
By the relief office I seen my people; 
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking 
Is this land made for you and me?

With those two verses gone, any American could sing “This Land is
Your Land” without fretting if they were questioning America’s
greatness. Its simple melody and picture-painting lyrics made it fun
and easy for kids to learn. It remains one of the all-time,
all-American favorites. (Ironically, “God Bless America” and
“This Land is Your Land” are often performed together in school
programs and on albums of patriotic songs.)

More recently, a growing number of singers have dusted off Guthrie’s
preferred lyrics. In 2009, rocker Bruce Springsteen and folk legend
Pete Seeger sang it from start to finish as part of President Barack
Obama’s inaugural celebration.

Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen This Land is Your Land Obama
Inauguration

_About The Kennedy Center
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recognizing America’s need to take its place on the world’s
cultural stage, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established a
commission for a new public auditorium in the nation’s capital.
Three years later, he signed the National Cultural Center Act (Pub. L.
No. 85-874).  In signing this act, President Eisenhower confirmed the
inherent value of the arts to all Americans, and created what would
ultimately become the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts—a true ‘artistic mecca,’ and one of the world’s most
respected organizations._

* Woody Guthrie
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* Music
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* folk music
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* A Complete Unknown
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* Pete Seeger
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* Bruce Springsteen
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* Bob Dylan
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