This Land Is Your Land
One of the United States' most famous folk songs, its lyrics were written in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".
[citation needed] The original lyrics[9] were composed on February 23, 1940, in Guthrie's room at the Hanover House hotel at 43rd St. and 6th Ave. (101 West 43rd St.) in New York.
By 1944, after Germany had invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Guthrie returned to vigorous support for U.S. involvement in Europe and a more anti-nationalism stance.
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me; Sign was painted, it said private property; But on the back side it didn't say nothing; This land was made for you and me.
[13] As with other folk songs, it was sung with different words at various times, although the motives for this particular change of lyrics may involve the possible political interpretations of the verses.
They can be best interpreted as a protest against the vast income inequalities that exist in the United States, and against the sufferings of millions during the Great Depression.
The Travellers thought making the song about Canada would appeal to their audience, so made the appropriate changes to the chorus, namechecking several Canadian locations in place of American ones.
The private property and relief line verses were not included; it is possible The Travellers had never heard them prior to recording their version of the song.
The song was revived in America the 1960s, when several artists of the new folk movement, including Bob Dylan, The Kingston Trio, Trini Lopez, Jay and the Americans, and The New Christy Minstrels all recorded versions, inspired by its political message.
In the film, the song is performed in the closing credits by several singers, starting with Carradine and including Woody Guthrie.
"[24] Voice actress and children's entertainer Debi Derryberry recorded a version for her musical album What A Way To Play in 2006.
In 2010, Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, the surviving members of Peter, Paul and Mary, requested that the National Organization for Marriage, which is against legalization of same-sex marriage, stop using their recording of "This Land is Your Land" at their rallies, stating in a letter that the organization's philosophy was "directly contrary to the advocacy position" held by the group.
'"[28] On January 20, 2021, during the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, Jennifer Lopez performed some verses of the song as part of a medley with America the Beautiful.
She excluded verses critical of the United States and interposed a Spanish-language translation of a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance.
They include: Many variants of the song have been recorded with lyrics adjusted to fit diverse countries, regions, languages, and ethnic groups.
[56] The song has been sung by characters in many film and television productions, including Bob Roberts (1992), Stepmom (1998), Full House, The Luck of the Irish (a Disney Channel original movie), Up in the Air (2009) and by Renée Zellweger in the 2010 film My Own Love Song.
[73] In July 2004, the website JibJab hosted a parody of the song, with George W. Bush and John Kerry singing altered lyrics to comment on the U.S. presidential election that November,[74][75] resulting in The Richmond Organization, a music publisher that owns the copyright to Guthrie's tune through its Ludlow Music unit, threatening legal action.
[76] JibJab then sued to affirm their parody was fair use, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) acting for them.
[82] The Richmond Organization and Ludlow Music were sued in 2016 over their claims of copyright in a lawsuit led by Randall Newman.
In a similar case, Newman previously successfully argued the song "Happy Birthday to You" was public domain.
[83] In February 2020, Judge P. Kevin Castel of the Federal District Court in Manhattan dismissed the case because the plaintiffs had already paid the license fee, so there was no legal dispute to adjudicate.
