30. Woody Guthrie, This Land is Your Land
Isn’t it funny how it’s always the people who are loudest and most vicious in their criticism of the government—how those same people are the ones fighting hardest and ugliest and crookedest to get into that same government? They denounce and threaten, all the while itching to get their hands on the levers of power. We talk about “the government” as if it’s something separate and apart from us, as if it’s not been We the People since the very beginning. But we are the government. The country’s in our hands. This land was made for you and me.
“This Land is Your Land,” written and performed by Woody Guthrie, 1951.
This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day through May 31, 2025. Inspired by my MFAH 100 project.
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A reminder that never tires
My favorite X lyric: “Woody Guthrie sang about B-E-E-T-S, not B-E-A-T-S.”