"
This Land Is Your Land" is one of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' most famous
folk songsFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. Its lyrics were written by
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's "
God Bless America"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song ....
", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing
Kate SmithKathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American Popular singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s.Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia...
sing it on the radio, he wrote a response originally called "God Blessed America for Me". Guthrie varied the lyrics over time, sometimes including more overtly political verses in line with his sympathetic views of communism, than appear in recordings or publications.
Guthrie wrote the song in 1940 and recorded it in 1944. The song was not published until 1945, when it was included in a mimeographed booklet of ten songs with typed lyrics and hand drawings. The booklet was sold for twenty-five cents, and copyrighted in 1951.
The first known professionally printed publication was in 1956 by Ludlow Music (now a unit of
The Richmond OrganizationHoward S. "Howie" Richmond is an American music publisher and music industry executive. He established The Richmond Organization , one of the largest independent music publishing organizations in the world, and had a hand in commercialising and promoting many pop, folk and rock songs since the...
), which administered the publishing rights to Guthrie's song. Ludlow later issued versions with piano and guitar accompaniments.
In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
to be added to the
National Recording RegistryThe National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
.
Melody
Guthrie's melody was very similar to the melody of "Oh, My Loving Brother", a
BaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
gospel
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
that had been recorded by the
Carter FamilyThe Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
as "When the World's On Fire" and had inspired their "Little Darlin', Pal of Mine." He used the same melody for the chorus and the verses.
Guthrie's song, however, had a different melodic structure from the hymn or the similar Carter family melodies, and he used only the first half of those melodies in his song. The melodic structure of the presumed model(s) can be described as "ABCD" -- a new melodic phrase for each of its four lines. Guthrie's structure, however, is "ABAC." In other words, Guthrie repeats the beginning of the melody (the "A" section) for his 3rd line, and for his 4th line ("This land was made for you and me" in the chorus), he uses a melody that is not found in the hymn or in either Carter family melody.
Original 1944 lyrics
- This land is your land, this land is my land
- From California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to the New York IslandManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
- From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
waters
- This land was made for you and me.
- As I went walking that ribbon of highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
- I saw above me that endless skyway
- I saw below me that golden valley
- This land was made for you and me.
- I roamed and I rambled and I followed my footsteps
- To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
- While 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
- A voice was chanting, As the fog was lifting,
- This land was made for you and me.
- 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.
Confirmation of two other verses
A March 1944 recording in the possession of the Smithsonian, the earliest known recording of the song, has the "private property" verse included. This version was recorded the same day as 75 other songs. This was confirmed by several archivists for
SmithsonianThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
interviewed as part of the
History ChannelHistory, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
program Save Our History - Save our Sounds. The 1944 recording with this fourth verse can be found on Woody Guthrie: This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Volume 1, where it is track 14.
- There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
- Sign was painted, it said private property;
- But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
- This land was made for you and me.
Woody Guthrie has a variant:
- 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.
It also has a verse:
- 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.
- In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
- By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
- As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
- Is this land made for you and me?
A 1945 pamphlet which omitted the last two verses has caused some question as to whether the original song did in fact contain the full text. The original manuscript confirms both of these verses.
As with other folk songs, the lyrics were sung with different words at various times although the motives for this particular change of lyrics may involve the possible political interpretations of the verses. Recordings of Guthrie have him singing the verses with different words.
Modern usage
The song was brought back to life in the 1960s, when several artists of the new folk movement, including
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
,
The Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
,
Trini LopezTrini Lopez is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Career:Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood. He began his entertainment career in Dallas playing at the Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby...
,
Jay and the AmericansJay and the Americans was a pop music group popular in the 1960s. Their initial lineup consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane , Kenny Vance and Sandy Deanne , though their greatest success on the charts came after Traynor had been replaced as lead singer by Jay Black.-Early years:They were...
, and The New Christy Minstrels all recorded versions, inspired by its political message.
Peter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
recorded the song in 1962 for their
MovingMoving is the second album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in January 1963. The lead-off single, "Big Boat," failed to chart substantially, only staying on the Top 100 for two weeks, reaching #93....
album.
The SeekersThe Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
recorded the song for their 1965 album, A World of Our Own.
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
released a live version of it on
Live/1975-85Live/1975–85 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It consists of 40 tracks recorded at various concerts between 1975 and 1985. It was released as a box set with either five vinyl records, three cassettes, or three CDs...
, in which he called it "about one of the most beautiful songs ever written." Numerous records have been released since.
Dave MatthewsDavid John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
has periodically sung the song's first verse as an outro while performing "Don't Drink The Water". In 2007,
Counting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
released an acoustic version as a bonus track on
August and Everything AfterAugust and Everything After is the first commercially released album of the American rock band Counting Crows, released September 14, 1993....
. The
funkFunk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
/
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
group
Sharon Jones & The Dap-KingsSharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s...
included their rendition on the 2005 record Naturally.
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
once again brought back the song in 2008 as set closer when performing acoustic concerts in support of
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Presidential candidate
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, this time adding a "Yes We Can" chant before and after the song.
The song was sung by Springsteen and
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, accompanied by Seeger's grandson,
Tao Rodríguez-SeegerTao Rodríguez-Seeger is an American contemporary folk musician. He plays banjo, guitar, harmonica, and sings in Spanish and in English. He is known as a founder of The Mammals and is the grandson of folk musician Pete Seeger....
, at
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln MemorialWe Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the...
on January 18, 2009. The song was restored to the original lyrics (including the 'There was a big high wall there' and 'Nobody living can ever stop me' verses) for this performance (as per Pete Seeger's request) with the exception of a change in the end of the 'Relief Office' verse to "As they stood hungry, I stood there whistling, This land was made for you and me." The original lyrics are "As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking, Is this land made for you and me?"
The song is used during the introduction to the 2009 film
Up in the AirUp in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. The story is about a corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham and his travels...
, in a version sung by Sharon Jones and at the end credits of the 2009 documentary Food Inc. performed by Bruce Springsteen.
In 2010,
Peter YarrowPeter Yarrow is an American singer who found fame with the 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote one of the group's most famous songs, "Puff, the Magic Dragon"...
and Paul Stookey, the surviving members of Peter, Paul and Mary, requested that the
National Organization for MarriageThe National Organization for Marriage is a nonprofit political association established in 2007 to work against legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States, specifically to pass California Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage in California...
stop using their recording of "This Land is Your Land" at their rallies, stating in a letter that the organization's philosophy was "directly contrary to the advocacy position" held by the group.
Arlo GuthrieArlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
tells a story in concerts on occasion, of his mother returning from a dance tour of China, and reporting around the Guthrie family dinner table that at one point in the tour she was serenaded by Chinese children singing the song. Arlo says Woody was incredulous: "The Chinese? Singing "This land is your land, this land in my land? From California to the New York island?"
Slim Cessna's Auto ClubSlim Cessna's Auto Club is an alternative country-gothabilly band formed in 1992 in Denver, Colorado. The constant in the band has been Slim Cessna, formerly a member of The Denver Gentlemen along with David Eugene Edwards and Jeffery-Paul of 16 Horsepower. Jay Munly is also a key member of the...
has a version called “This Land Is Our Land Redux,” a near-violent demand to take back the country from what it’s become. The song was released on their album "cypher" in 2008.
Tom MorelloThomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
performed the song with Guthrie's original verses on October 13, 2011 in Zucotti Park, New York City as part of a larger performance at the
Occupy Wall StreetOccupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...
movement.
Variations
As is the case with many well-known songs, it has been the subject of an enormous number of variations and parodies. They include:
Versions about other countries
Many versions of the song have been recorded, with lyrics adjusted to fit other countries or regions. They include:
- Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, a version was written and popularized by Canadian folk music group The TravellersFor other meanings of the term see The Travellers For the American folk trio see Travelers 3The Travellers were a Canadian folk singing group which formed in the summer of 1953...
in 1955:
- This land is your land, This land is my land,
- From Bonavista
Bonavista is a town on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Unlike many Newfoundland coastal settlements, Bonavista was built on an open plain, not in a steep cove, and thus had room to expand to its current area of 31.5 square...
, to Vancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
- From the Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
to the Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
waters,
- This land was made for you and me.
...and...
- I roamed and I rambled,
- And I followed my footsteps
- To the fir-clad forests
- Of our mighty mountains
- And all around me
- A voice was calling,
- This land was made for you and me.
- Swedish
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
musician Mikael WieheMikael Christian Wiehe is a Swedish singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. As the main songwriter and driving force of Hoola Bandoola Band he was also one of the most important people in the proggmovement.-Career:...
has written a text in SwedishSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Det här är ditt land.
- The UK
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
anarcho-punkAnarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
band Zounds rewrote it for their 1981 debut LP, The Curse of Zounds, releasing a remixA remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed CD single version as a fund-raising benefit in 2001. Billy BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
has used a version of the song with UK specific lyrics in live performances. A version was included on the bonus tracks section of the 2006 re-release of his The InternationaleThe Internationale is a 1990 album by Billy Bragg. Originally released on Bragg's short-lived record label, Utility Records, it is a deliberately political album, consisting mainly of cover versions and rewrites of left-wing protest songs...
album. Bragg's lyrics begin:
- This land is your land, this land is my land,
- From the coast of Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
to the Scottish HighlandsThe Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
,
- From the sacred forests
Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Continuously forested since the end of the Ice Age, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423 hectares surrounding the village of...
to the holy islandsHoly Island Cybi') is an island on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, North Wales, from which it is separated by a narrow, winding channel. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of standing stones, burial chambers and other religious sites on the small island. The...
.
- This land was made for you and me.
- A Welsh
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
version was recorded by nationalistWelsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
folk singerFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Dafydd IwanDafydd Iwan , is a Welsh folk singer and politician. He was the president of Plaid Cymru .Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynaman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and is the elder brother of politician Alun Ffred Jones. He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of...
. The chorus is:
- Mae'n wlad i mi ac mae'n wlad i tithau,
- O gopa'r Wyddfa i lawr i'w thraethau,
- O'r De i'r Gogledd, o Fôn i Fynwy.
- Mae'r wlad hon yn eiddo i ti a mi.
|
- This land is mine and this is yours,
- From the top of Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
, down to her beaches,
- From South
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
to NorthNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, from Anglesey to MonmouthshireMonmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
.
- This land was made for you and me.
|
- In Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, many sing the song with this chorus:
- This land is your land, this land is my land
- From the northern highlands to the western islands
- From the hills of Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
to the streets of (FreeFree Derry was a self-declared autonomous nationalist area of Derry, Northern Ireland, between 1969 and 1972. Its name was taken from a sign painted on a gable wall in the Bogside in January 1969 which read, “You are now entering Free Derry"...
) DerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
- This land was made for you and me
- There is also an Irish rebel song
Irish rebel music is a subgenre of Irish folk music, with much the same instrumentation, but with lyrics predominantly concerned with Irish republicanism.-History:...
, which is often performed with "Let the People Sing", with the above chorus and other verses, including:
- As I went walking, by the Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
waters
- Hand in hand with, my little daughter
- With the church bell ringing,
- And the children singing,
- This land was made for you and me
- Belgian singing duo "Hanny and Adri" made a version in 1969 in Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
, titled "Jen Nia Mondo," literally "Behold Our World." The chorus translates as:
- Behold my world,
- Behold your world,
- With mountain snow
- And sea wave,
- From the tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
- To the poles,
- Behold vast world for all of us.
- The U.S. Virgin Islands released a commercial with a song relating to the USVI.
- This land is your land, this land is my land,
- From California to the Virgin Islands
- From the Redwood Forest, to the Caribbean waters
- This land is made for you and me
- The Bahamas sings the song with the first verse altered:
- This land is your land, this land is my land,
- From Grand Bahama
Grand Bahama is one of the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, and the closest major island to the United States, lying off the state of Florida. Grand Bahama is the fifth largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays...
down to InaguaInagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua.Great Inagua is the third largest island in The Bahamas at 596 sq mi and lies about 55 miles from the eastern tip of Cuba. The island is about 55 x 19 miles in extent, the highest point...
- From the Berry Islands
The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a district of the Bahamas, covering about thirty square miles of the north western part of the Out Islands...
, down to MayaguanaMayaguana is the most easterly island and district of the Bahamas. It is one of only a few Bahamian islands which retain their Lucayan names. The population of Mayaguana in the 2000 census was 259, amounting to an estimate 312 in 2010...
- This land is made for you and me
- Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
also has a version.
- Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
has a version by the Taveners. The lyrics are in Hebrew.
Other variations
The song has been recorded by many performers over the years, ranging from American hardcore band Hated Youth to Turkish performer Nuri Sesigüzel to
reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
group
The MelodiansThe Melodians were a reggae band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica in 1965, by Tony Brevett , Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton...
.
A version called "This badge is your badge", about FC United of Manchester, was written by fan Mickey O'Farrell, and is often sung by fans at the club's matches.
In film, television and Internet
The song has been sung by characters in many films, including
Bob RobertsBob Roberts is a 1992 film written and directed by Tim Robbins. It is a satirical mockumentary, chronicling the rise of Bob Roberts, a conservative politician who is a candidate for an upcoming United States Senate election...
(1992),
StepmomStepmom is a 1998 comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and starring Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris.The film was a commercial success, but a moderate critical success.-Plot:...
(1998),
The Luck of the Irish-Plot:Kyle Johnson is a popular basketball player in junior high school who has never known about his heritage. He is often told by his best friend, Russell Halloway , that he is the luckiest person he has ever known...
a
Disney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
movie and
Up in the AirUp in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. The story is about a corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham and his travels...
.
Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
used the song in late 1978 when its downsized LTD was advertised in a television commercial.
It has been parodied many times, including:
- In the Home Improvement episode "Too Many Cooks" (1994), Tim refers to Al as "Al 'This Land Is' Borland".
- A 1999 episode of Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
when JoeyJoseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani, Jr. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends and the title character in the spin-off, Joey , portrayed by Matt LeBlanc....
meets a man he believes to be his "hand-twin," resulting in the lyric "This hand is my hand."
- The 1999 film Sonnenallee
Sonnenallee is a 1999 comedy film about life in East Berlin in the late 1970s. The movie was directed by Leander Haußmann. The film was released shortly before the corresponding novel, Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee...
features a version performed by Alexander HackeAlexander Hacke is a guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, experimental / industrial / electronic musician from Germany....
, changing the geographical references in the first verse to match those of East Germany, where the film takes place:
- This land is your land, this land is my land
- From Karl Marx City
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
to Rügen IslandRügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
- From Thuringia Forest
The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...
to Frankfurt (Oder)Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
- This land was made for you and me.
- The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Lisa the Treehugger" (2000) with the words changed to "This log is my log, this log is your log" in reference to a runaway giant redwood tree.
- The Arthur
Arthur is an American/Canadian animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group and WGBH for the Public Broadcasting Service...
episode "The Pride of Lakewood" with the words changed to "This school's a great school, this school's a cool school".
- The June 27, 2009 episode of A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
by Arlo Guthrie as "This Song is My Song".
Copyright controversy
In 2004, the website
JibJabJibJab is a digital entertainment studio based in Venice, California. Founded in 1999 by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it was noticed during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing "This Land is Your Land" became a hit. The company creates,...
featured a parody of the song, featuring
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
singing altered lyrics, resulting in the Richmond Organization threatening legal action. At this point, it was noticed that the copyright to the original 1945 publication had expired in 1973 and was not renewed as then required by copyright law. The Richmond Organization, a music publisher that owns the copyright to Guthrie's tune through its Ludlow Music unit, settled with Jibjab shortly thereafter. Richmond still, however, claims copyright on other versions of the song, such as those appearing in the 1956 and later publications. Legally, such claims only apply to original elements of the song that were not in the
public domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
version.
Media
External links