Solidarity Economy Music

This Land is Your Land

Peter, Paul, and Mary, 1962

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.

I roamed and rambled, and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was singing
This land was made for you and me!
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 went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me those golden valleys
This land was made for you and me!

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 the sun was shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting, a voice was saying
"This land was made for you and me!"

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.

These are the lyrics to “This Land is Your Land” that is known to the general American public. But there are actually two other verses that were in the original Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”. One is:

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.

And the other:
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.
In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

These lyrics actually add a questioning/envisioning aspect to the song. The first omitted verse speaks of taking freedoms and not following the rules set by the powers above. It shows that this land that has no rules, with infinite possibilities (like the blank side of a sign) is meant for you and me. While the second verse shows an image of a darker America where he sees people in pain and not having their basic needs met, here he questions if this land is actually using its resources to provide for these people if it really is a free country that has all these opportunities for everyone, including the poor. But the verses that are known to the public is a song that really encourages solidarity and community among people that this land is equally yours as it is mine.