As we celebrate the 248th birthdate of our country, I revisited Woody Guthrie’s song, “This Land is Your Land.” Guthrie wrote this song in 1940 in response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” which Guthrie perceived as not representative of the more common people who were not homeowners nor landowners (Guthrie’s perception). Guthrie also wrote a second set of lyrics, titled, “Dust Bowl Refugee,” which could be used today to reflect the many refugee families seeking hope here in the USA. Those particular lyrics were written by Guthrie as thousands of Oklahomans struggled to get to California only to be turned away at the California border. Those who did manage to get through lived in appalling situations and worked on farms for a pittance. (See The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, 1939. Also, the historical novel, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, 2021.)
It should be noted that the Native American community felt that Guthrie’s lyrics ignored and dismissed the fact that “this land” first belonged to the Native Americans.
Despite the controversies, “This Land is Your Land” has been used in various settings to create energy and commitment, especially in demonstrations such as civil rights events, union rallies, and other large communal gatherings.
In reflecting on the original lyrics of the song, they are a beautiful description of our country.
A poetic vision
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts…
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling…
The big picture chorus
From California to the New York island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
The lyrics that Woody Guthrie wrote for “Dust Bowl Refugee” aptly describe the plight of today’s refugee families arriving at our borders.
Dust Bowl Refugee (abridged)
‘Cross the mountains to the sea,
Come the wife and kids and me.
It’s a hot old dusty highway
For a dust bowl refugee.
Hard, it’s always been that way,
Here today and on our way
Down that mountain, ‘cross the desert,
Just a dust bowl refugee.
From the south land and the drought land,
Come the wife and kids and me,
And this old world is a hard world
For a dust bowl refugee.
Yes, we ramble and we roam
And the highway that’s our home,
It’s a never-ending highway
For a dust bowl refugee.
In the many years that Jerry and I have been married, we have, along with our kids, traveled that “ribbon of highway” and saw that “endless skyway.” And as we would be heading home, the recurring theme is always…
This Land has room for more people to settle here. We can share our Land, invite newcomers to join us in working our Land, making a home here.
To quote Amanda Gorman in “The Hill We Climb,”
For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
As a country, may we come together in common purpose; to be brave enough to open our hearts and our homeland and welcome the “wife and kids and me” who have indeed crossed mountains and desert seeking a safer place to live and contribute their gifts to This Land that we say is ours. Ours to share.
Happy Fourth!
Bridget
Listen to Woody Guthrie on YouTube, “This Land is Your Land”, “Dust Bowl Refugee”.
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