This Land is Your Land

"This Land is Your Land" is one of the United States's most famous folk songs, written by Woody Guthrie in 1940. It was originally penned in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" Guthrie considered that song unrealistic and complacent, and was tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on the radio. Guthrie varied the lyrics over time, sometimes including more overtly political verses that do not commonly appear in official recordings or publications.

Guthrie first recorded the song in 1944, and first published it in 1945, in a mimeographed booklet of ten songs that contains typed lyrics and hand drawings. The booklet was sold for 25¢, and "Copyright 1945" was written on the cover.

The first known professionally printed publication was in 1956 by Ludlow Music (now a unit of The Richmond Organization), which administered the publishing rights to Guthrie's tune. Ludlow later issued versions with piano and guitar accompaniments. A version with the more political "no trespassing" and "relief office" verses was published in 1972.

In 1986, Bruce Springsteen released a live cover of the song on his box set Live/1975-85. He had been playing the song, prefacing it with the story of its origin, throughout his Born in the U.S.A. tour.

In 2004, the Web site JibJab featured a of the song, resulting in the Richmond Organization threatening legal action . At this point, it was noticed that the copyright to the original 1945 publication had expired in 1973, when it was not renewed as then required by copyright law. The Richmond organization settled with Jibjab shortly thereafter. It still, however, claims copyright on other versions of the song, such as those appearing in the 1956 and later publications. Legally, such claims only apply to original elements of the song that were not in the public domain version.

Below are the lyrics of the song as given in the 1945 booklet. (These are somewhat different from the lyrics in later published editions.)

This land is your land, this land is my land

From the Redwood Forest to the New York Island

The Canadian mountain to the Gulf Stream waters

This land is made for you and me.

As I go walking this ribbon of highway

I see above me this endless skyway

And all around me the wind keeps saying:

This land is made for you and me.

I roam and I ramble and I follow my footsteps

Till I come to the sands of her mineral desert

The mist is lifting and the voice is saying:

This land is made for you and me.

Where the wind is blowing I go a strolling

The wheat field waving and the dust a rolling

The fog is lifting and the wind is saying:

This land is made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me

As I go walking my freedom highway

Nobody living can make me turn back

This land is made for you and me.

The exhibit at the |- | align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" colspan="2" | "America the Beautiful" | "Ballad of the Green Berets" | "Battle Cry of Freedom" | "Battle Hymn of the Republic" | "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" | "For The Dear Old Flag, I Die" | "God Bless America" | "God Bless the USA" | "Hail to the Chief" | "My Country, Tis of Thee" | "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" | "This is My Country" | "This Land is Your Land" | "Stars and Stripes Forever" | "The Star-Spangled Banner" | "Yankee Doodle" | "You're a Grand Old Flag" | "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" |}