This Land Is Your Land children's book + song by Woody Guthrie | Read Aloud Singalong Music for Kids

"This Land Is Your Land" is a folk song by Woody Guthrie. He wrote it as a protest song saying that the United States is for everyone who lives there, not just for some people who don't think everyone belongs. This book, illustrated with beautifully detailed paintings by Kathy Jakobsen, has all of the verses including two that are sometimes left out of other versions of the song. People don't always want to think about bad things in a song, but this song's lyrics describe good and bad things about the United States and can help us think about how to take action to solve social and economic, human problems.

It's a thoughtful song about inclusivity, but also a problematic song. It focuses on the land belonging to all Americans, but that land is stolen land that European colonizers took from Native Americans, who were already living there. Plus, Native Americans don't consider land to be owned by people. The land actually belongs to the earth and was stolen from its rightful caretakers: the indigenous people, who are still here and still being erased.

When we learned about the issue with this song, we thought about whether we should refrain from posting it out of respect for Native Americans. We are still thinking about it. For now we would rather share it along with our thoughts and hopefully get some other people thinking about the issues too. The lyrics still have meaning aside from the focus on land, but it is important to think about how ideas in a song can hurt people, even if that was not the intention. We may take this video down at some point if we feel it is more important to protest the song than to provoke discussion about it.

Lyrics:
This land is your land, and 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

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

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

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

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

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?

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

This land is your land, and 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