Thinking about Woody today as Woody turns one hundred. listened to and read lots.
Our oldest daughter turned 32 today. Yeah. Oh yeah, Happy Bastile Day too for thos of you who celebrate that.

If Woody were back with us today, still in his prime, do you think he would want to amend the lyrics to This Land based on today's views?

Remember this land was not always your or my land.

Arlo did a spoofy version on PHC last week that was fun to listen to.

But the version with Arlo telling the story about his Mom's trip to China touches on the edge of the subject about including the rest of the world in the song.

Thoughts?

i don't know how woody might approach that...i think i understand the context from where the song came

apparently the song has inspired a number of versions around the world and in that way includes pretty much everyone?

a native american verse:

this land is your land
but it once was my land
until we sold you
manhattan island
you pushed our nations
to the reservations
this land was stole by you from me

a belgian version translates:

behold my world,
behold your world,
with mountain snow
and sea wave
from the tropics
to the poles
behold vast world for all of us

I have heard the first one but not the Belgian version. Why not Guitarman (Luc) ?

It helps to know that Woody wrote that song as a kind of "equal-time" response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" which catapulted Kate Smith to fame. Gotta think that WWG would probably be an "occupier" or a Bernie Sanders acolyte today.


mikey

^ To show the common people they have co-ownership of our country!

This land is our land,
You better know it man!
Constitution says so.
Not for just the rich man.
Quite a few more poor folks,
If they get too hungry,
Rich pigs get apples up their snout.


Responses, Woody's popular anthem may or may not have forseen, are from REO Speedwagon "Golden Country" or Aerosmith "Eat the Rich." Famine doesn't care about money, power and prestige, nor does mother nature in her ever growing rage.

thanks mikey, that is what i meant by "the context", thanks for putting it to words!

yeah guitarman...hmmmm?... (she said with arms akimbo and eyebrows going in all directions)

Uh-Oh........

haha...oh sure :)

Sigh...

I would really like to see that eyebrow thing.