THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Live 05 May 1981 version

[Spoken intro:] This is a song... this is a song that was written by, by Woody Guthrie. It's... in the States when times, when times get hard and there's a lot of, a lot of unemployment... there's always a resurgence of, of groups like uh... the Ku Klux Klan and the National Socialists. (boos) And this was a song was written, it was written as a, as an answer, an angry answer to this song called "God Bless America". And... it wasn't, it wasn't about, about flag-waving or, or, or phony kind of patriotism that, that a lot of these groups hide behind, their phony nationalism. It was about just the right of, of every man to live free. And... it's a dream but I think it's a dream that's in, in the hearts of people, people all, all over the world, so it's not a song just.

Well once I rode that ribbon highway
I saw above me the endless sky
I saw below me a golden valley
Oh this land was made for you and me

I roamed and I rambled and I followed my footsteps
Through the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was singing
It cried this land was made for you and me

Well the sun came shining as I went strolling
Through the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
And the bells were ringing and the fog was lifting
Oh this land was made for you and me

Now from the shores of California to the streets of New York
To Liberty City and the streets of Brixton
People watching and people wonder
If this land was made for you and me

Well this land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream waters
Oh this land was made for you and me

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 05 May 1981 performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND at Drammenshallen in Drammen, Norway, during The River Tour. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. This version is one of eight on this tour that feature Springsteen's own "Liberty City" verse. Here Springsteen adds a reference to the 1981 Brixton riot that took place the previous month.

Ticket stub for the 05 May 1981 show at Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway
(Taken from Brucebase)

Pass for the 05 May 1981 show at Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway
(Taken from Brucebase)

Available Versions

List of available versions of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND on this website:

Page last updated: 30 Apr 2015