"
This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous
folk songs. Its lyrics were written by American folk singer
Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in critical response to
Irving Berlin's "
God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing
Kate Smith sing it on the radio, he wrote a response originally called "God Blessed America". Guthrie varied the lyrics over time, sometimes including more overtly political verses in line with his sympathetic views of communism than appear in recordings or publications.