In 1918, the great American songwriter, Irving Berlin, penned God Bless America for a musical revue but didn't use it choosing instead to file it away for future use. Twenty years later as the world slipped closer to another war, Berlin retrieved and revised his song. Kate Smith, one of the most popular singers of the day, debuted the song on her radio show to a national audience on November 11 (Armistice Day), 1938. It was an instant hit.
While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer:
God bless America, land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above;
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home, sweet home.
God bless America, my home, sweet home.
If the iconic American folksinger and songwriter, Woody Guthrie, didn't hear that broadcast live, he certainly heard it played over and over on jukeboxes and radio broadcasts as war in Europe became very real. He developed a strong dislike for the song and, as a protest singer, supporter of leftist causes, and fellow traveler of the Communist Party, he soon saw the lyrics as a bland representation of the real American experience. Speaking up for the people, the less fortunate, the down trodden, the forgotten, he wrote a parody of God Bless America. He titled it God Blessed America For Me but you know it as This Land Is Your Land.
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.
As I was walking that ribbon of highway
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 I rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
While all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me.
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
Sign was painted, it said private property
But on the back side it didn't say nothing
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
A voice was chanting, As the fog was lifting,
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.
We're going to hear both of these songs more than once over the holiday weekend. I don't care which song fits your disposition. And either way one chooses to define that experience we should have no problem defining the United States as a unique experience among the history of nations. Celebrate it!
Sources
Text:
wikipedia.org
No comments:
Post a Comment