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Article: Would he?(Parting Shots)(Woody Guthrie; Irving Berlin)(Biography)
- Article from:
- Sing Out!
- Article date:
- March 22, 2005
- Author:
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Or wouldn't he? Who knows? I think most of us folkies have heard that Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land Is Your Land" (originally titled "God Blessed America") as a response to Irving Berlin's 1939 hit song "God Bless America." Guthrie wrote his song in protest against a pop tune he disdained and thought somewhat insincere. Woody, after all, observed that millions of Americans might not feel so blessed, still having a rough time as the lingering effects of the Great Depression stressed the blessing. While Woody was hitchhiking he was repeatedly forced to listen to Kate Smith's rendition of "God Bless America," playing on every jukebox, radio and record player he passed. That ...