Song: “This Land is Your Land” by Woodie Guthrie

Text 2

Origin: 20th century, Woodie Guthrie
Text Type: Song
Intended Audience: The intended audience of this song were those living during The Great Depression. However, the song hadn’t been published till 1944, and was directed towards the working American middle class.

Woodie Guthrie playing the guitar

“This Land Is Your Land” is one of the United States’ most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, a Carter Family tune called “When the World’s on Fire”, in critical response (protest song) to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” Throughout the song, Woody Guthrie describes America in its most perfect and ideal sense, as opposed to the common misconception that the song entails. The entire song is the description of an envisaged country by Guthrie.

In the original lyrics, Guthrie goes on to compare his utopian scenario of America to the harsh realities of American life. “As they stood there hungry, I stood there wondering if God blessed America for me” pertains to the average working middle class citizens’ struggle. Since the entire song is a response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, the whole thing resonates with an almost patronizing tone as Guthrie lightly mocks and picks at Berlin’s beliefs of the superior America. Therefore, throughout the song Guthrie begs the question ‘Is this land really ours?’.

Furthermore, the term ‘Land’ in this song refers to a ground of unity. “When we sung that song, Americans — young and old, black and white, of all religious and political beliefs — were united, for a brief moment, by Woody’s poetry,” Springsteen claimed. Moreover, Guthrie adds the lines

“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.” Therefore, alluding the concept of ‘Land’ to private property. This emphasises the meaning of “Your Land”, therefore convincing his audience that they have the right to their own home/property in the their country.