Live 26 May 1981 version
[Spoken intro:] Thank you. This is uh... this is a song by Woody Guthrie.
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
Through the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was crying
It sighed 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
And I seen 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 Forests to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me
Now they're dying on the streets of New York and in Liberty City
Down in Harlem County and on the streets of Brixton
People watching, people worry
If this land was made for you and me
The above lyrics are for the live 26 May 1981 performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND at The Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, during The River Tour. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement, with some piano accompaniment from Roy Bittan. This version is one of eight on this tour that feature Springsteen's own "Liberty City" verse. Here Springsteen adds a reference to the 1981 Brixton riot that took place the previous month.
This concert was originally scheduled for 17 Mar 1981 (see ticket stub above) but was rescheduled reportedly due to Springsteen's exhaustion following the first 1981 North American leg of the tour.
List of available versions of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND on this website:
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [1988 studio version]