The Unabridged, Un-coopted Woody Guthrie

My dad's always thought he was a big fan of
Woody Guthrie, the only American I can think
of who's been able to pull off being a communist
AND an American icon.

I'm sure my father would never take my word for it...
I'm just a college boy after all. My father,
on the other hand, is a real American. He works
really hard (with his hands not on his ass like me)
is mostly deaf and half crippled from years of welding
for a company that layed him off after 29 years of service.
And he hates unions.

Why working Americans are so dead set against
making their lives better is beyond me. We are
the sheep that like to get shorn, I reckon.

Here are the complete lyrics to one of the greatest
protest songs ever written, stolen by The Man,
abridged and taught to school children all over
America in its watered-down form.


THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds
rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.