This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
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but tomharding was first
Happy 239th birthday, America!
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This really ought to be the national anthem. We were lucky to hear Arlo Guthrie perform this last weekend.
The November 2008 covermount from @MOJOmagazine is titled Rebel Music and collects 14 "songs of protest and insurrection," including two by the month's cover stars The Clash and also ranging from Nina Simone to Robert Wyatt. I really wanted to bring you the still very timely "Choice of Colors" by The Impressions; but, like almost anything controlled by Warner Music Group, it's blocked here. Another great choice was Billy Bragg's "There Is Power in a Union," but I've already Jammed him in recent weeks. Woody Guthrie's legendary tune is a fine substitute; this version comes from the brilliant Asch Recordings set currently available from Smithsonian/Folkways. Despite the video clip showing 1946, the Asch collection's liner notes state that the recording date is unknown for this particular take. Guthrie wrote it in 1940 and it first appeared commercially in 1951, not including two of the original verses; several different performances of the song are available today.
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This week, it's got to be a Woody song.
The original punk rocker sticks it to the "God Bless America" crowd:
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.
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worth remembering
