# The 1940 song Tom Morello called “the most American song”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-1940-song-tom-morello-called-the-most-american-song/
- Published: 2026-10-31T01:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T01:49:28+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-1940-song-tom-morello-called-the-most-american-song/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- 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.

## Summary

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.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.