This Land Is Your Land (Patreon)

Words: Woody GuthrieMusic: "When The World's On Fire" by the Carter Family

Written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 (to a Carter Family tune and in response to Kate Smith's "God Bless America"),  this anthem to the United States encompasses the good and the bad. Most everyone knows the chorus, but the later verses make it a protest song. This is the most common published version, but there are some "lost" lines that are more indicting of the times; I hope to record that version live, with a bunch of people singing along.

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.

(chorus)This land is your land, This land is my landFrom California to the New York island;  From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters  This land was made for you and Me. 

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footstepsTo 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 thereAnd 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 askingIs 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 backThis land was made for you and me.