“This Land Is Your Land” was written by Woody Guthrie in reaction to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” Guthrie felt that Berlin’s song was too sappy, too blindly patriotic, and too cut off from the hard-knock life many Americans were facing as the Great Depression dragged into its 10th year. In February 1940, Guthrie decided to fight music with music. He worked up a simple song that tried to capture his love of the American landscape. At the same time, he wanted to point out that a lot of Americans weren’t feeling blessed at all. The song calls for an America that is big and beautiful, but also compassionate. Today we include his final 3 verses so the song can be heard as Woody intended it.

“If I Had a Hammer,” written by Pete Seeger, has 3 verses that speak conditionally: “IF I had a hammer,” “IF I had a bell,” “IF I had a song.” (As in we could help shape the world for the better if only we had these tools.) The 4th verse then takes an all-important and empowering lyrical turn. “Well I got a hammer, and I got a bell, and I got a song to sing!” This song was widely sung during the civil rights movement, including as Pete Seeger walked with MLK Jr.

—Chris