Woody Guthrie – This Land Is Your Land – one of the first social protest songs – a National Anthem.

This is the original song with the two essential political verses just as Woody first wrote it. He based it on the popular ditty God Bless America.

It was a eulogy to the greatness of America and the American people and an indictment of the way the wealthy took so much for themselves. In the land of plenty so many had hard lives and lived in poverty while the wealthy few creamed off the riches for themselves, selfishly and callously exploiting the workers.

Woody was for unions and a fair wage for a fair days work. He wasn’t into scrounging. He was into tolerance, equality and fairness. He was a giant of a man and a hero of mine.

This is one of the first protest songs, a great piece of poetic writing and should be the National Anthem of America. If it was I think we’d be living in a better world.

Woody’s guitar killed fascists. There’s still a lot out there though. I guess we have to play and sing louder.

This Land Is Your Land

This land is your land, this land is my land.

From California to the New York Island,

From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters,

This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway

And saw above me that endless skyway,

And saw below me the golden valley, I said:

This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and rambled and 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.

Was a high wall there that tried to stop me

A sign was painted said: Private Property,

But on the back side it didn’t say nothing —

This land was made for you and me.

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling

In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling;

The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting:

This land was 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.

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple

By the Relief Office I saw my people —

As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if

This land was made for you and me.