Pete Seeger finally got the last word today. The 89-year-old folk singer, blackballed in the 1950s and 1960s for his populist lyrics, took the stage with Bruce Springsteen in front of the Lincoln Memorial with the Obama family and several hundred thousand in attendance and proceeded to lead them all in a round of "This Land Is Your Land" using Woody Guthrie's original lyrics. For a fellow who rode the rails with Guthrie during the Great Depression the irony could not have been sweeter. The old guy smiled from ear to ear.
Here are the full lyrics.
This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
Chorus:
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 was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
I've roamed and rambled and I've 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
Chorus
The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
As I was walkin'- I saw a sign there
And the sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side ... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!
Chorus
In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.
Chorus (2x)
2 comments:
Isn't it a brand new day? Thanks for posting the lyrics. I don't think I've ever seen the last three verses there.
"In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me."
Maybe it's my pessimistic disposition- but I find this last verse so typical of American thinking. That while all is pretty grand and beautiful, we're proud to be members of the great establishment that is our government. However as soon as times get tough, such as a depression, it's the fault of the "land" and the people are quick to jump ship. It's no longer "how can I make this land great for you and me," it's "let's blow this dump."
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