This Land Is Your Land

A 1940 folk song by Woody Guthrie, written in response to “God Bless America.” Its verses combine a vision of shared belonging with pointed criticism of poverty and private property.

Woody Guthrie: An American folk singer and songwriter whose songs addressed working people, migration, and social injustice. He wrote and recorded the song in 1940.
Folk music: Music rooted in shared traditions, often transmitted and reshaped through performance. The song’s simple melody and adaptable verses follow folk practice.
American patriotism: Attachment to the United States expressed through loyalty, national identity, or civic ideals. The song became patriotic through performance even as some verses criticize inequality.
Alan Lomax: An American folklorist and musicologist who recorded and documented traditional music. His 1944 recording helped preserve an early performance of Guthrie’s song.
God Bless America: A patriotic song written by Irving Berlin and popularized by Kate Smith in 1938. Guthrie wrote his song in response to hearing Berlin’s hymn repeatedly.
Refrain: A recurring line or group of lines in a song or poem. The repeated title phrase makes the song easy to sing collectively.
Private property: A system of rights that gives individuals or organizations control over possessions and land. One verse questions whether fences and signs can exclude people from the land.
Pete Seeger: An American folk singer and activist who performed and popularized traditional and political songs. His performances helped establish the song as communal repertoire.
Great Depression: A severe worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted through much of the 1930s. Its poverty and displacement shaped the social world behind Guthrie’s lyrics.
Song lyrics: The words sung or spoken in a musical composition. The contrast between celebratory and critical verses drives the song’s meaning.

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