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'''This Land is Your Land''' is a [[communist]] folk song written by [[Woody Guthrie]] in 1940, and initially recorded in 1944. It has been recorded by performer/liberal activist  [[Bruce Springsteen]], folk singer [[Bob Dylan]], and [[British]] socialist performer [[Billy Bragg]]. Despite the communist sympathies of Guthrie and this song, it is generally regarded as one of America's favorite folk songs and was at one point being considered as a suggestion to be the national anthem.<ref>[http://banteringbibliocrat.blogspot.com/2008/07/woody-guthries-this-land-is-your-land.html]</ref> Communist [[Pete Seeger]] has stated that Guthrie was also a communist; however, Guthrie's membership in the Communist Party is debated (though he has always been associated with United States communist groups), and his daughter called him a "commonist, not a communist."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jul/07/woody-guthrie-centenary-protest-songs Woody Guthrie still inspires, 100 years on from his birth] Ed Vulliamy, guardian.co.uk, July 7, 2012, retrieved September 13, 2012</ref>

'''This Land is Your Land''' is a [[communist]] folk song written by [[Woody Guthrie]] in 1940, and initially recorded in 1944. It has been recorded by performer/liberal activist  [[Bruce Springsteen]], folk singer [[Bob Dylan]], and [[British]] socialist performer [[Billy Bragg]]. Despite the communist sympathies of Guthrie and this song, it is generally regarded as one of America's favorite folk songs and was at one point being considered as a suggestion to be the national anthem.<ref>[http://banteringbibliocrat.blogspot.com/2008/07/woody-guthries-this-land-is-your-land.html]</ref> Communist [[Pete Seeger]] has stated that Guthrie was also a communist; however, Guthrie's membership in the Communist Party is debated (though he has always been associated with United States communist groups), and his daughter called him a "commonist, not a communist."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jul/07/woody-guthrie-centenary-protest-songs Woody Guthrie still inspires, 100 years on from his birth] Ed Vulliamy, guardian.co.uk, July 7, 2012, retrieved September 13, 2012</ref>

One of the last verses of the song criticizes the enclosure of land for private purposes:

One of the last verses of the song implies that there should be no such thing as private [[property]].

:As I was walking, I saw a sign there;

:As I was walking, I saw a sign there;

:There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;

:There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;

:Sign was painted, it said "Private Property";

:Sign was painted, it said private property;

:But on the back side it didn't say nothing;

:But on the back side it didn't say nothing;

:This land was made for you and me.

:This land was made for you and me.

Another verse refers to the [[welfare]] lines of the [[Great Depression]]:

Another verse implying a need for [[welfare]] is:

:In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;

:In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;

:As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,

:As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,

:Is this land made for you and me?  

:Is this land made for you and me?  

==References==

==References==

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