Cody Dulac
Professor Powell
ENG200
April 28, 2017
Critical Analysis of This Land is Your Land
This Land is Your Land is an American Folk song that was written in 1940 by songwriter Woody Guthrie. This Land is Your Land was written in response to the song God Bless America which songwriter Woody Guthrie disagreed. He wanted is own representation of a patriotic song that he felt would more accurately relate to American citizens at the time. In an article by Mark Allen Jackson, Jackson sates that “it is a musical response to God Bless America” (Jackson 251). In order to best understand the song it must be interpreted through historical criticism. Historical criticism is used because the song This Land is Your Land is a product of the time …show more content…
He was born in Oklahoma, and by the time that he was nineteen he had made is way to the Northwest. He hoboed his way from the Texas panhandle all the way to California (Reuss 277). He lived a nomadic life traveling through different cultures. In the 1940’s Woody made his way to the East coast and New York. During that time Irving Berlin created the song God Bless America which was a smashing hit. While travelling from Texas to New York Woody would hear the song constantly (Jackson 252). From his travels and life experiences he thought that not everyone felt the same way that Berlin did. He felt that not everyone had a reason to be grateful to live America which Berlin sated as a land so fair, also Woody felt that many people were not proud of their land. In response he created This Land is Your Land a song that was about an America that was for everyone. The first verse of the song is “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” (Muller 235). I believe that this first verse is directly referring to Woodies past as a nomadic traveler. In his younger years he traveled through many of the states witnessing how people live. I believe that he used his own historical knowledge of the America that he knew as inspiration for his …show more content…
In the sixth verse of the song it states “As I went walking, I saw a sign there, and it said “No trespassing” (Muller 235). This is a reference to the selfishness of property owners and class ineqaulity. In the seventh verse Woody says that “In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, by the relief office I seen my people; as they stood there hungry, I stood there asking is this land for you and me?”(Muller 235). Woody is referencing the need for relief for lower class people or those who had been affected by class
Professor Powell
ENG200
April 28, 2017
Critical Analysis of This Land is Your Land
This Land is Your Land is an American Folk song that was written in 1940 by songwriter Woody Guthrie. This Land is Your Land was written in response to the song God Bless America which songwriter Woody Guthrie disagreed. He wanted is own representation of a patriotic song that he felt would more accurately relate to American citizens at the time. In an article by Mark Allen Jackson, Jackson sates that “it is a musical response to God Bless America” (Jackson 251). In order to best understand the song it must be interpreted through historical criticism. Historical criticism is used because the song This Land is Your Land is a product of the time …show more content…
He was born in Oklahoma, and by the time that he was nineteen he had made is way to the Northwest. He hoboed his way from the Texas panhandle all the way to California (Reuss 277). He lived a nomadic life traveling through different cultures. In the 1940’s Woody made his way to the East coast and New York. During that time Irving Berlin created the song God Bless America which was a smashing hit. While travelling from Texas to New York Woody would hear the song constantly (Jackson 252). From his travels and life experiences he thought that not everyone felt the same way that Berlin did. He felt that not everyone had a reason to be grateful to live America which Berlin sated as a land so fair, also Woody felt that many people were not proud of their land. In response he created This Land is Your Land a song that was about an America that was for everyone. The first verse of the song is “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” (Muller 235). I believe that this first verse is directly referring to Woodies past as a nomadic traveler. In his younger years he traveled through many of the states witnessing how people live. I believe that he used his own historical knowledge of the America that he knew as inspiration for his …show more content…
In the sixth verse of the song it states “As I went walking, I saw a sign there, and it said “No trespassing” (Muller 235). This is a reference to the selfishness of property owners and class ineqaulity. In the seventh verse Woody says that “In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, by the relief office I seen my people; as they stood there hungry, I stood there asking is this land for you and me?”(Muller 235). Woody is referencing the need for relief for lower class people or those who had been affected by class