This machine kills fascists

Some things never change...but we keep fighting

Amid the dystopia in which we are now living thanks to Donald Trump and his republican minions, it's easy to forget that those of us on the left have been fighting the evil on the right for a long time...and probably will be for as long as most of us may live.

Today is Woody Guthrie Day, a tribute to the man who fought the good fight for social justice and a fair economic system for all of us long before most of us were born.  It's also a hopeful reminder of how far we have come, and though we still have far to go, that the promised land will be more than just a promise.

"This Land Is Your Land" is the greatest song ever written about America and an ode to both the beauty and the ugliness that resides herein.  As I've already featured Guthrie's version, I'd like to feature his heir apparent, Bruce Springsteen, and his powerful version (which I had the good fortune of seeing live, though not on the night of the one featured below).

Enjoy while you, too, keep fighting the good fight:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XLVIII--Woody Guthrie: This Land Is Your Land

Pete Seeger.  The Weavers.  Johnny Cash.  Bob Dylan.  Bernie Sanders (!--truly awful--listen here).  Neil Young.  Bruce Springsteen.  The Kingston Trio.  Peter Paul and Mary.  The Seekers.  Steve Earle.  Judy Collins.  Arlo Guthrie.  Glen Campbell.  Billy Bragg.  Tom Morello.  My Morning Jacket.

Not to mention there is no one in America over the age of five who can't at least sing the first verse.

It's hard to imagine that a song first recorded 71 years ago could inspire such a varied group of artists as those above to record their own versions through the years, but "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie has.  Guthrie originally penned the song in 1940 as a response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" (which he considered unrealistic), forgot about the song until 1944 (when it was recorded for the first time), and the rest, as they say, is history.  The original lyrics had a decidedly more political bent to them, but Guthrie eventually pared them down to the celebration of America's beauty that we all know today.

Guthrie himself was quite the political animal, travelling across America throughout the Great Depression fighting poverty and injustice.  He flirted with the Communist Party, was a strong labor union supporter, and railed against forces of inequality not so different than those we face today.  Sadly, Guthrie's suffered from the effects of Huntington's disease for the last twenty years of his life and spent the final eleven years in hospitals before his death in 1967.  He left behind a legacy of political activism via music and a catalog of songs that define the American experience of the twentieth century.  A true American hero.

As for the song itself--what can I really say?  It's a buoyant trip across this land we call home, celebrating its beauty and its promise.  And with nothing more than a voice and an acoustic guitar.

Fun factoid:  Guthrie had a sticker affixed to his guitar which read, "This machine kills fascists."  Truer words, my friends, truer words.

And despite all our travails, American truly is "...made for you and me."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

All around me a voice was a-sounding

I've been trying to find a spot to put this video for months--the Fourth of July seemed like an appropriate time because nothing says America quite like two old hippies (Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir) from the Grateful Dead joining forces with a Latino rock band--the incomparable Los Lobos--to sing and play Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."  Replete with a sax solo and some mean accordion playing to boot....

From July of 1989, when I was still a very young man--Happy Fourth, and enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee