Removed Lyrics:
The original lyrics of the hit now contains about two stanzas less than originally intended. The original bit went as follows:
Fourth Stanza:
As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side ... it didn't say nothin'!
Now that side was made for you and me!
God blessed America for me.
Sixth Stanza:
One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the Relief Office I saw my people--
As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if
God blessed America for me.
The majority of these two stanzas were cut becuase of the way they poke at America in what is supposed to be a very patriotic song to some. They were mainly written to emphasize Gunthrie's Marxist ideologies which actually was the original reason he wrote the song. Unlike most of the music written about America back then, the patriotic song harshly exposed the economic inequalities that Guthrie was witnessing in the aftermath of the Great Depression.
Synopsis:
Throughout the song, Woody Guthrie describes America in its most perfect and ideal sense, as opposed to the common misconcep-tion that the song is about the bright atmosphere by which the United States is encompassed. The entire song is the description of an envisaged country by Guthrie. In the original lyrics, Guthrie goes on to compare his utopian scenario of America to the harsh realities of American life. "As they stood there hungry, I stood there wondering if God blessed America for me" pertains to the average working to middle class citizens' struggle. Since the entire song is a response to Irving Berlin's God Bless America, the whole thing resonates with an almost patronizing tone as Guthrie lightly mocks and picks at Berlin's beliefs of the superior America.
Analysis:
This song resounds as a patriotic and clairvoyant when initially heard or listened to aesthetically. But when the listener makes an effort to understand what Guthrie is saying, the intent of the song becomes quite obvious. Woody Guthrie was a socialist. And he didn't mind reflecting his ideas through his music. Since he had been raised in rural Oklahoma during the Great Depression and was entering the country's second world war, Guthrie couldn't help but feel as though the United States would function more successfully and equally if it were under a communist regime.
Song of America:
This Land is Your Land is ideally the perfect Song of America as it is devoted to describing America through the eyes of Woody Guthrie. Many times in history, a country sees the foundation of a controversial idea, an idea that spreads and leads the way for others to emerge. The idea in this song is communism. Socialism was a widespread movement across the world, and although it was very hesitantly viewed by most Americans, Guthrie saw it as a step upward from the troubles of maintaining an economy as the U.S. has done. And with his Marxist ideas, Woody was truly able to depict the problems experienced by everyday 40's Americans while also speaking on what the country had originally promised its people. Woody Guthrie was born into and lived his entire life as part of the middle lower class. And as middle class makes up a majority of the population, the demand for change wasn't uncommon, even if it wasn't usually based on communism. When This land is Your Land was released, it is likely that a good portion of the adults had been a part of the recently faded Great Depression. The country was also currently emerging out of the devastating Second World War. All these political and economical problems had citizens begging for the old America, and that is exactly what Woody Guthrie did.
The original lyrics of the hit now contains about two stanzas less than originally intended. The original bit went as follows:
Fourth Stanza:
As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side ... it didn't say nothin'!
Now that side was made for you and me!
God blessed America for me.
Sixth Stanza:
One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the Relief Office I saw my people--
As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if
God blessed America for me.
The majority of these two stanzas were cut becuase of the way they poke at America in what is supposed to be a very patriotic song to some. They were mainly written to emphasize Gunthrie's Marxist ideologies which actually was the original reason he wrote the song. Unlike most of the music written about America back then, the patriotic song harshly exposed the economic inequalities that Guthrie was witnessing in the aftermath of the Great Depression.
Synopsis:
Throughout the song, Woody Guthrie describes America in its most perfect and ideal sense, as opposed to the common misconcep-tion that the song is about the bright atmosphere by which the United States is encompassed. The entire song is the description of an envisaged country by Guthrie. In the original lyrics, Guthrie goes on to compare his utopian scenario of America to the harsh realities of American life. "As they stood there hungry, I stood there wondering if God blessed America for me" pertains to the average working to middle class citizens' struggle. Since the entire song is a response to Irving Berlin's God Bless America, the whole thing resonates with an almost patronizing tone as Guthrie lightly mocks and picks at Berlin's beliefs of the superior America.
Analysis:
This song resounds as a patriotic and clairvoyant when initially heard or listened to aesthetically. But when the listener makes an effort to understand what Guthrie is saying, the intent of the song becomes quite obvious. Woody Guthrie was a socialist. And he didn't mind reflecting his ideas through his music. Since he had been raised in rural Oklahoma during the Great Depression and was entering the country's second world war, Guthrie couldn't help but feel as though the United States would function more successfully and equally if it were under a communist regime.
Song of America:
This Land is Your Land is ideally the perfect Song of America as it is devoted to describing America through the eyes of Woody Guthrie. Many times in history, a country sees the foundation of a controversial idea, an idea that spreads and leads the way for others to emerge. The idea in this song is communism. Socialism was a widespread movement across the world, and although it was very hesitantly viewed by most Americans, Guthrie saw it as a step upward from the troubles of maintaining an economy as the U.S. has done. And with his Marxist ideas, Woody was truly able to depict the problems experienced by everyday 40's Americans while also speaking on what the country had originally promised its people. Woody Guthrie was born into and lived his entire life as part of the middle lower class. And as middle class makes up a majority of the population, the demand for change wasn't uncommon, even if it wasn't usually based on communism. When This land is Your Land was released, it is likely that a good portion of the adults had been a part of the recently faded Great Depression. The country was also currently emerging out of the devastating Second World War. All these political and economical problems had citizens begging for the old America, and that is exactly what Woody Guthrie did.