Woody Guthrie

Folk singer Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was from Oklahoma, but many Oklahomans are uneasy with him.  After all, he was friendly to the Communists, supported labor unions, and had a sticker on his guitar that said, “This machine kills fascists.”

Now George Kaiser, ranked by Forbes magazine as the richest man in Oklahoma, is building an exhibition and educational center in Tulsa to house the Guthrie archives and honor the man.  

Oklahoma was not always the conservative state it is today.  It was a hotbed of  populism in the late 1800s and radicalism in the Thirties.  It may be ironic that the richest man in Oklahoma is honoring a singer noted for his defense of the downtrodden, but in any case Guthrie deserves the honor.  

But now it’s time to sing:

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.

There was a 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.

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;

By the relief office, I'd seen my people.

As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,

Is this land 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.