THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Live 03 May 2009 version



[Spoken intro:] I'll give you the words, and you can sing them.

As I, as went walking that ribbon of highway
As went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me
Endless skyway, an endless skyway
Below me, I saw below me
Golden valley, a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Everybody!
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

In the squares of the city
By the shadow of the steeple, by the shadow of the steeple
The Relief Office, by the Relief Office
I saw my people, I saw my people
They stood there hungry, as they stood hungry
I stood there whistling, I stood there whistling
Hey, what, what's up?
This land's still made for you and me

Everybody!
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

A great high wall there, A big high wall there
Tried to stop me, that tried to stop me
Painted sign there, a painted sign there
Said private property, said private property
But on the other side, but on the other side
Didn't say nothing, it didn't say nothing
That's alright with me
That side 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

Nobody living, nobody living
Can ever stop me, can ever stop me
I go walking, as I go walking
Freedom highway, my freedom highway
Nobody living, nobody living
Make me turn back, can make me turn back
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

One more time!
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

[Bruce Springsteen:] Happy birthday Pete!

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Pete
Happy birthday to you


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 03 May 2009 performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, during The Clearwater Concert. The song was played with the concert's all-cast, led by Pete Seeger. The parts marked in bold are sung by Pete Seeger. At the end of the song, Springsteen wishes Seeger happy birthday and then the concert's all-cast and the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to Seeger.

The 03 May 2009 Show

Folk artist, political activist, and environmentalist Pete Seeger celebrated his 90th birthday on 03 May 2009 with a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY. Billed "The Clearwater Concert", the event was in support of Clearwater, an environmental group that Seeger founded in 1969 and whose mission is to preserve and protect the Hudson River, its tributaries and related bodies of water.

Promotional ad for the 03 May 2009 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Promotional ad for the 03 May 2009 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Promotional poster for the 03 May 2009 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Promotional poster for the 03 May 2009 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Ticket stub for the 03 May 2009 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
Ticket stub for the 03 May 2009 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY

The Clearwater Concert featured a large all-star cast of musicians who came to pay tribute to Pete Seeger. They performed classic Seeger songs, iconic civil rights anthems, and some of their own Seeger inspired originals. Among the performer were Pete Seeger himself, Joan Baez, Billy Brag, Bruce Cockburn, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Michael Franti, Arlo Guthrie, Ben Harper, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Taj Mahal, Dave Matthews, Roger McGuinn, John Mellencamp, Dar Williams, and many more.

Bruce Springsteen was the final artist on the bill. He delivered a lengthy speech about Pete Seeger and his struggles and activism, before performing THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD as a duet with Tom Morello. Then the stage filled with the remaining performers, including Seeger, to perform five more songs to wrap up the event. See the list below for more details.

  1. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (with Tom Morello)
  2. THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND (with all performers)
  3. WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN (with all performers)
  4. WELL MAY THE WORLD GO (with all performers)
  5. THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE (with all performers)
  6. GOODNIGHT IRENE (with all performers)

These are the concert's last six consecutive songs. WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN was performed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band while all the night's performers were dancing onstage. WELL MAY THE WORLD GO was performed with Seeger's grandson Tao Rodríguez-Seeger on lead vocals.

The event aired in an edited form on 30 Jul 2009 on PBS as part of the Great Performances series. Also in an edited form, the event was officially released in 2009 on Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Celebration: The Clearwater Concert, a 2-disc DVD released by the Clearwater label. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (with the preceding speech) and THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND were part of the broadcast. These two, plus WELL MAY THE WORLD GO, constitute the three songs on which Springsteen appears and that were included on the DVD release.

Various artists -- Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Celebration: The Clearwater Concert
Various artists -- Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Celebration: The Clearwater Concert

Request

If you have a ticket stub for this event or a better quality scan/photo of the poster, please contact me via the below form or by email: .

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: 04 May 2015