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This Land (Woody Guthrie)
This Land (Woody Guthrie)
#1
So, I was rather surprised to find that this song wasn't listed in the arsenal, and a forum search didn't turn it up either.

Quote:This Land Is Your LandWords and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;

From the red wood 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've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;

And 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.
Lyrics from here.
The third to last verse was cut from the original releases, and the second to last was apparently never officially recorded.  (See pages nine and 28 on the liner notes you can download from the Smithsonian on this page.)  The last verse, from what I can find, was written by Woody after he came down with Huntington's Disease, and could no longer play the guitar or sing.  However, he did teach the verse to his son, Arlo Guthrie.  I was able to find a digitally combined version of the complete song, with both of them singing, on Amazon.  (It is free if you have Amazon Prime, I'm sorry (and surprised) I couldn't find it on youtube.)  I was able to find some others singing the complete song, though, at a concert for what would have been his hundredth birthday:

As for the power, here's what I thought of: Allows Doug to walk from any location within the US to any other location within the US (likely there's a large minimum distance involved) in the time it takes for the song to complete.  (Maybe it lets him take others with him too?)  It also causes him to witness everything along his path, good and bad, beautiful and ugly (while removing any cultural blinders?) 
How does that sound?
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
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