I've always been annoyed by the lyrics of our National Anthem ... "bombs bursting in air .... rockets red glare". I mean, come on. Too aggressive, too militaristic.
According to HankNYNY's diary about #OccupyTulsa, protestors sat down and sang the National Anthem just before being arrested Tuesday evening. I get the sentiment. Sit down and sing a patriotic song. But our National Anthem is hardly peaceful and doesn't really seem appropriate. However, their peaceful tactic seems like a good one.
I guess I'm not alone, because several posters suggested alternate songs in that diary's comments thread. One comment in particular jumped out at me, so I want to bring this idea to a larger audience: This Land is Your Land
In 1940 Woody Guthrie believed that Irving Berlin's God Bless America was a little too syrupy and well ... godly. His response was to write "This Land is Your Land" a song that never fails to give me chills. Please follow me over the jump ...
According to HankNYNY's diary about #OccupyTulsa, protestors sat down and sang the National Anthem just before being arrested Tuesday evening. I get the sentiment. Sit down and sing a patriotic song. But our National Anthem is hardly peaceful and doesn't really seem appropriate.
I guess I'm not alone, because several posters suggested alternate songs in the comments thread. One comment in particular jumped out at me: This Land is Your Land. Jane Lew gave me permission to post her comment as a diary to open this up to a larger conversation. Here is her comment:
This Land is Your Land
I'd be singing some authentic Oklahoma music...Woody Guthrie... This Land is Your Land
Substituting the variant last verse and the two additional often omitted verses.
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me.
I roamed and I rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
While all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me.
When the sun came shining, and I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
A voice was chanting, As the fog was lifting,
This land was made for you and me.
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
This land was made for you and me.[7]
Variant:
As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.
Additional 2 verses:
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?
Wikipedia
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." -- Plato
by Jane Lew on Fri Nov 04, 2011 at 10:39:35 AM EDT
Even Woody Guthrie was incredulous that his song was recognized worldwide:
Arlo Guthrie tells a story in concerts on occasion, of his mother returning from a dance tour of China, and reporting around the Guthrie family dinner table that at one point in the tour she was serenaded by Chinese children singing the song. Arlo says Woody was incredulous: "The Chinese? Singing "This land is your land, this land in my land? From California to the New York island?" wikipedia
So, what do you think? Is this something that could go viral? #Occupy protestors all over the country sitting down to sing this song in response to aggressive and often violent police confrontations?
Let's talk about this ...
UPDATE:
Thank you X for finding all those amazing variations.
Thanks to Twigg for finding this historical rendition by Woody Guthrie himself. And check out the note on his guitar: THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS