The 1940 song Tom Morello called “the most American song”
Tom Morello has described Woody Guthrie’s 1940 song “This Land Is Your Land” as “the most American song ever written”, praising its focus on ordinary people and solidarity. The article argues that the song’s social themes reflect the political ideals that have shaped Morello’s music, from Rage Against the Machine to his later work.
Morello highlighted verses about people facing hardship and questioned whether the country’s promise of opportunity applies to everyone. Guthrie wrote the song in 1940, before Bob Dylan’s folk protest songs, and Morello called it a deeply American anthem that many people do not know. He said he hoped its vision of shared responsibility could one day be reflected in the country’s national anthem.
In short
- Morello praised Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”.
- He called it “the most American song ever written”.
- The song’s verses focus on hardship and solidarity.
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The case for
The song can be heard as expressing a central American ideal: that the country belongs to its people, including those facing hardship, and that its promise of opportunity should be shared widely. From this perspective, Morello’s praise highlights solidarity and civic responsibility as deeply patriotic values, and imagines an anthem that better reflects them.
The case against
A thoughtful counterargument is that calling Guthrie’s song the most American risks presenting one political interpretation as the nation’s defining identity. Some may value the existing anthem’s emphasis on the country’s history and endurance, or see America’s ideals as including individual initiative and pluralism alongside shared responsibility. The song’s critique may be meaningful without needing to replace or outrank other patriotic traditions.
Explained simply
Woody Guthrie was an American folk singer who wrote songs about working people, poverty and social justice. “This Land Is Your Land”, written in 1940, is one of his best-known songs; some verses describe hardship and question who benefits from the country’s land and opportunities.
Tom Morello is a guitarist and songwriter, known for the politically outspoken rock band Rage Against the Machine and his later solo work. Guthrie’s songs and ideas are part of a broader American folk tradition that uses music to address inequality and public life.