| Songs and Anthems | Legends and Supporters |
Lyrics
#Chorus:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From the northern highlands to the western islands
From the hills of Kerry to the streets of (Free) Derry
This land was made for you and me
#As I was walking by the Shannon water
Hand in hand with my little daughter
The church bells ringing, and the children singing
This land was made for you and me
(Chorus)
#So I walked her home by the old church steeple
Proud of my country, proud of my people
Of the men who tried there, of the men who died there singing
This land is made for you and me
(Chorus)
#Then I climbed a mountain, saw the crystal fountain
And heard a great roar from the rocky sea shore
Her eyes were gleaming, she cried oho Daddy
This land was made for you and me#
Adapted from a classic Woody Guthrie tune and song (Link)
Note
In general the tune is better known in football circles from the Celtic song “Let the People Sing“, where the song takes the chorus from the above.
Background
“This Land Is Your Land” is one of the United States’ most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on the radio, he wrote a response originally called “God Blessed America for Me”. Guthrie varied the lyrics over time, sometimes including more overtly political verses than appear in recordings or publications.
Guthrie lifted the melody of “This Land Is Your Land” essentially note-for-note from “When the World’s on Fire,” a Baptist hymn recorded by country legends the Carter Family ten years earlier. However, some sources claim that a Carter Family original, “Little Darlin’ Pal of Mine,” was the source of the melody for “This Land.”
He wrote the song in 1940 and recorded it in 1944. The song was not published until 1951, when it was included in a mimeographed booklet of ten songs with typed lyrics and hand drawings. The booklet was sold for twenty-five cents, and copyrighted in 1945. The first known professionally printed publication was in 1956 by Ludlow Music (now a unit of The Richmond Organization), which administered the publishing rights to Guthrie’s tune. Ludlow later issued versions with piano and guitar accompaniments.
In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
Scottish verse & version
A Scottish additional verse has also been used by others such as “The Waterboys”
This land is your land, this land is my land
From the banks of the Tweed to the Shetland Islands
From the verdant Lowlands to the mighty Highlands
This land was made for you and me
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND (Scottish Version)
Chorus:
#This land is your land, this land my land
From the English border, to the North Sea water
From the Western Islands, to the Northern Highlands
This land was made for you and me
#One summer’s morning as the day was dawning
I viewed the Islands on the misty skyline
The rainbow fountain of the Coolin Mountains
This land was made for you and me
#Old winter crept on as Scotland slept on
No factory roaring, no oil rig oaring
Just weeded byways and deserted highways
Relics of the life it used to be
#Then I awakened to a spring day breakin’
On the sons and daughters of Alba’s waters
And the flag they’re flyin’ is the rampant lion
This land was made for you and me