On Aug. 14, you can hear a rewrite of "This Land" on "Woody at Home"

From a July 14 New York Times article by pop music critic Jon Pareles comes some of the "This Land is Your Land" lyrics from the Guthrie estate and Shamus Music. On Aug. 14, they will release songs from home recordings recently recovered from simple recording equipment Woody used at home. Look for "Woody at Home, Vol, 1 & 2." Some  of the draft lyrics for "This Land:"

Wikipedia lists "This Land is Your Land" under "Songs of Socialist Movements." It includes these notes: "Guthrie wrote the song as a critical response to Irving Berlin's God Bless America. The stanza condemning private property is often omitted."

"This Land is Your Land" -- almost all the lyrics

This is from the official Woody Guthrie web site. I wanted the whole thing due to an ignorance in some quarters as to what the song is about. My plan is to give credit to where credit due. I also was curious about the copyright info below: "Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc., & TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)." I will tell you what I found in a separate post.

This Land Is Your Land

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
Contact Publisher - TRO-Essex Music Group

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.

I've roamed and rambled and I 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.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

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.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

---

© Copyright 1956 (renewed), 1958 (renewed), 1970 and 1972 by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. & TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

Oklahoma artist Jack Fowler releases Woody Guthrie image to activists

Your message here: Oklahoma artist Jack Fowler released his image of Woody Guthrie to the rest of us, hoping we will make art and possibly political messages with it. Fowler projected this image on the Oklahoma State Capitol along with his own customized message, "How Did It Come To This" as a protest against the wingnuts in the Oklahoma State Legislature, which may even be worse as the Wyoming State Legislature, which is hard to believe. Fowler told Hyperallergic: “I released the blank image so people could write in their own statements. I have no more plans for ‘Woody’s Guitar’ except for encouraging and fanning the flames of the positive, tangible things that have started to result from it.” The authorities were not pleased, telling Fowler that next time he does any projecting of images on the state capitol, he faces a fine and/or seizure of property. I guess Oklahoma authorities are only proud of Woody's folk hero status when it suits them. FMI: http://hyperallergic.com/364138/this-projection-art-kills-fascists/

Happy 100th birthday, Woody Guthrie -- "He loved writing!"

On the eve of Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday, Nora Guthrie talks about her father's love for writing in an NPR piece: "He loved writing — he loved it. My mother would say, 'He loved the feeling of a pen on paper' — just that visceral experience. He loved that. It was his energy coming out of his fingertips." Pictured is one of Woody's notebooks (circa 1942) from his extensive archive.