THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Live 28 Dec 1980 version



[Spoken intro:] One two. [tests guitar and harmonica] Well... One, two three, thank you. This is uh... there's a book out right now, it's called "Woody Guthrie: A Life". And uh... it's by a fella named Joe Klein. And I didn't, I didn't know much about Woody Guthrie till I, till I read this book. I'd, I'd heard a whole lot about his music and uh... it's just a beautiful book and, and, and this is a song that uh... was originally wrote, was originally wrote as an answer, as an angry answer to "God Bless America". And uh... since then... it's been used for a lot of things. But uh... if you get a chance, you ought to pick up this book and read it because it just tells you a lot about, about the country you're living in.

Well I went riding that ribbon highway
I saw above me the endless skyway
I saw below me the golden valley
Well this land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled, followed my footsteps
Through the sparkling sands of the diamond desert
And all around me a voice was ringing
That 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 Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
Well this land was made for you and me

Well the sun came shining and a voice lifting
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
And a voice was ringing as the fog was lifting
It cried that 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 Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
Oh this land was made for you and me


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 28 Dec 1980 performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, during The River Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.

The Live/1975-85 box set liner notes indicate that the recording of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND is taken from this 28 Dec 1980 show in Uniondale, NY, but that's incorrect. It's actually taken from the following night's show in Uniondale, NY (see the Live 29 Dec 1980 version).

The 28 Dec 1980 Show

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band rounded up the 1980 leg of The River Tour with three concerts at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, on 28, 29, and 31 Dec 1980. The three shows were recorded live with the Record Plant Remote Truck by Toby Scott, assisted by David Bianco and Jim Scott, and later became one of the main sources for the Live/1975-85 box set which includes six recordings from these shows. Four additional recordings were released as B-sides and on compilation albums.

Ticket stub for the 28 Dec 1980 show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
Ticket stub for the 28 Dec 1980 show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

  1. MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY
  2. BADLANDS
  3. TWO HEARTS
  4. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT
  5. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
  6. INDEPENDENCE DAY
  7. WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN
  8. FACOTRY
  9. THE PROMISED LAND
  10. OUT IN THE STREET
  11. THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
  12. THE RIVER
  13. PROVE IT ALL NIGHT
  14. THUNDER ROAD
  15. CADILLAC RANCH
  16. HUNGRY HEART
  17. SHERRY DARLING
  18. FIRE
  19. BECAUSE THE NIGHT
  20. 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY)
  21. FOR YOU
  22. STOLEN CAR
  23. WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY
  24. POINT BLANK
  25. THE TIES THAT BIND
  26. RAMROD
  27. YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH)
  28. BACKSTREETS
  29. ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)
  30. SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN
  31. JUNGLELAND
  32. BORN TO RUN
  33. DETROIT MEDLEY

Available Versions

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

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [1988 studio version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [2009 studio version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 28 Dec 1980 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 29 Dec 1980 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 31 Dec 1980 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 18 Apr 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 19 Apr 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 28 Apr 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 02 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 05 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 07 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 08 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 11 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 13 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 26 May 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 05 Jun 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 14 Jun 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 09 Jul 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 20 Aug 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 14 Sep 1981 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 09 Aug 1985 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 04 Sep 1985 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 06 Sep 1985 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 30 Sep 1985 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 29 Sep 1996 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 04 Oct 2008 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 05 Oct 2008 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 06 Oct 2008 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 02 Nov 2008 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 18 Jan 2009 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 03 May 2009 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 15 Mar 2012 version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Live 18 Oct 2012 (Parma, OH) version]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [Original Woody Guthrie version]

Page last updated: 05 May 2015