THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Live 19 Apr 1981 version



[Spoken intro:] This is uh... this is an old song that, about uh... about an old dream. This is a song by Woody Guthrie (cheers). And... it's hard to uh... to think what to say about this song because it's sung a whole lot in the States and it's been misinterpreted a whole lot. It uh... was originally written as an answer, as an angry answer to "God Bless America". It was... it was written as a fighting song, and it was written as... I feel, as a question that everybody has to ask themselves about, about the land they live in every day. And...

Well once I rode that ribbon highway
I saw above me an endless sky
I saw below me a golden valley
Oh this land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
In the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
It cried this land was made for you and me

Well the sun came shining as I went strolling
Through the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
And the bells were ringing and the fog was lifting
Oh this land was made for you and me

From Harlem County of New York City
To the fields of California, to Liberty City
Just people wondering, and wondering
If this land was made for you and me

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Islands
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 19 Apr 1981 performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND at Palais Des Sports De Saint-Ouen in Paris, France, during The River Tour. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. This version is one of eight on this tour that feature Springsteen's own "Liberty City" verse.

Ticket stub for the 19 Apr 1981 show at Palais Des Sports De Saint-Ouen, Paris, France
Ticket stub for the 19 Apr 1981 show at Palais Des Sports De Saint-Ouen, Paris, France

This concert was rescheduled from 21 Apr 1981.

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: 30 Apr 2015