Woody Guthrie is known for plenty of classic songs, but likely none as popular as “This Land Is Your Land”. Published in 1945, the song began as a parody of sorts of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”.
Guthrie wrote what became “This Land Is Your Land” in 1940, one year after “God Bless America” was released. In Guthrie’s original version, the song initially ended with “God blessed America for me.” Later, Guthrie changed the lyric to “This land was made for you and me,” which remains today. The melody comes from The Carter Family’s “Oh My Loving Brother”.
Videos by American Songwriter
Although Guthrie published “This Land Is Your Land” in 1945, it did not become well known until 1949. That year, Folkways Recording Company released “This Land Is Your Land”, which quickly became popular among other folk artists.
“This Land Is Your Land” begins with, “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 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.”
Why “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie Remains So Popular
Guthrie is the writer behind several other songs, including “I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore”, “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You”, “House Of The Rising Sun”, and more. But according to Guthrie’s niece, Anna Canoni, there is a reason that so many people still gravitate towards “This Land Is Your Land”.
“It’s the most famous, but there’s a reason why it’s the most famous,” Canoni says. “I think that often people will just look at the words on the surface, and not really look into what he’s talking about. But when Woody wrote, he wrote in double entendres, and sometimes triple. And there’s enough to keep you thinking.
“I think his music was really to keep you thinking and start up a conversation,” she continues. “It wasn’t just something nice to listen to. It’s something that needs to be said to begin a discussion. And I would define that as great songwriting. So ‘This Land Is Your Land’ would fit into that.”
Bruce Springsteen often performs “This Land Is Your Land” in his live shows. It appears on his Live/1975–85 record.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images