Who remembers the song “This Land Is Your Land”? I feel like we all learned this song in school or maybe from one of our sing-along records? But I (we) definitely learned it. It resonates in my mind, like many folk tunes we learned as kids.
Seeing and hearing Pete Seeger sing this with Bruce Springsteen at the Ripe age of 90, is so cool. Listening to Pete Seeger chime in with excerpts, is charming…
This Land Is Your 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
And saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me the golden valley
This land was made for you and me
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around meT, a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and 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
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
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
The song has been recorded by many artists since Woody Guthrie and there are many variations of the song, as well as many interpretations. I just smile when I hear it. Hope you feel the same!
Listen to the interesting story behind this famous song here:
I don’t look at this as a political post but more of a beautifully nostalgic post. Something that we all learned as children and sang together…And all still know the versus of. I personally am just so happy to be singing along!
And also check out this documentary about the life of Woody Guthrie:
Fisher-Price And The Little People
Folk Song, “Michael Row The Boat Ashore”