1/11/26

THIS LAND IS ...?

NOTE: As the avalanche of terrible news keeps rolling  while Donald Trump remakes the planet, I keep thinking of Woody Guthrie's anthem to democracy. I'm sure I'm not the first to translate Guthrie's sacred lyrics. But it's hard to resist. BCJ

This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land Is My Land
Words and Discord by Donny Trump

 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.

 This land is not your land, this land is my land.
From Venezuela to the Greenland island,
From the Cuban cane fields to the Gulf America waters;
This land was made not for you, but for me. 

As I was 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.

As I was walking that East Wing demolition, I saw above me that endless ballroom
I saw below me that golden Oval Office,
I'm remaking this house just  for me.

 I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 
And all around me a voice was sounding;
This land was made for you and me.

 I’ve raved and rambled and I dispatched my jackboots to the snowy streets of Minneapolis;
And all around Renee Good, gunshots were sounding;
This land was made for me, not for her.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling, 
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, 
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: 
This land was made for you and me.

 When the sun came shining, and I was golfing,
And the Canadian wheat fields were waving
As Miller’s voice was chanting,
Every land was made for the U.S.A. and me.

 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.

 As I went walking I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.”
But on the other side it said: “Trump excepted.”
That side was made not for you, but for me.

 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 made for you and me?

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 knowing
This land was made just for me!

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. 

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that autocratic highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back,
Until we all declare:
 “This land was made for you and me and not  just one man.”