New Springsteen version available on The People Speak DVD
The original version of "This Land is Your Land," which has been very influential on and performed often by Bruce
Springsteen, was composed by Woody Guthrie on February 23, 1940. http://www.woodyguthrie.org/(Visit Guthrie’s official
website)
Springsteen's December 28, 1980 performance of the song was included on Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live/1975-85. Introducing that performance, Bruce noted that Woody’s song was written originally as "an angry song, an answer to Irving Berlin, who just wrote 'God Bless America'." Like Springsteen's own "Born in the U.S.A.," Woody's song has been misinterpreted and misappropriated by many over the years in ways far removed from the spirit in which it was written. On the final stop of the Born in the U.S.A. tour in Los Angeles, Springsteen introduced his performance of "This Land" by calling it:
...the greatest song ever written about America.... and what's so great about it is it gets right to the heart of the promise of what our country was supposed to be about. And I guess... I don't know, if you talk to some of the unemployed steelworkers from East L.A. or Pittsburgh or Gary, there are a lot of people out there whose jobs are disappearing. I don't know if they'd feel if this song is true anymore.... I'm not sure that it is, but I know that it ought to be. So, I'd like to do this for you reminding you that with countries, just like with people, it's easy to let the best of yourself slip away.
Although he has performed "This Land is Your Land" many times over the years, Springsteen has yet to perform a complete version of the song in concert. Last year, however, he came the closest he’s ever come... twice. Both times he sang with Pete Seeger and others, each time performing five of the song's seven verses, including the two most frequently omitted ones about "the Relief office" and the "Private-Property/No Trespassing" sign. The first time was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the "We Are One" Obama Inaugural Celebration Concert. An official DVD of that concert will be released in mid-April. The second time, recorded a few months after the Inaugural Celebration but already available on DVD, was at Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday Celebration, http://seeger90dvd.myshopify.com/.. also featuring Bruce relating the story of Seeger’s insistence on singing the (almost) complete "This Land" at the Inaugural Celebration.
On DVD now as well is The People Speak,.. thttp://www.backstreets.com/Merchant2/m ... de=001..he new documentary based on Howard Zinn's U.S. history books, which also features Bruce performing "This Land is Your Land": a recent non-concert recording of a beautiful solo acoustic version at his New Jersey home, in which Bruce sings six of the seven verses.
- February 23, 2010 - Shawn Poole reporting
Quelle: Backstreets
Magie
