This Day In Music

On February 23, 1940, while staying in a hotel in New York City, Woody Guthrie wrote his lyrics to This Land Is Your Land. What started out as a protest song in keeping with Guthrie’s feelings about America’s social justice inequalities, took on a more patriotic symbolism later in the twentieth century. I can recall singing this in elementary school, when children still pledged allegiance to the flag every morning, and regularly learned songs identified with the great history of the United States. America the Beautiful, God Bless America, and This Land is Your Land are just a few of the songs we were proud to sing and memorize. This Land Is Your Land still had a life of protest however, with versions by Dylan and Springsteen reigniting the message Guthrie intended about the social disparities embedded in the country that was “made for you and me”.

If you are interested in Guthrie, the Joe Klein biography Woodie Guthrie: A Life is a captivating look at the artist and also exposes the reader to the harsh life many Americans experienced in the early part of the twentieth century.