Pete Seeger led Bruce Springsteen, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger and a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” on January 18, 2009, during the free, nationally broadcast We Are One inaugural celebration. The performance came two days before Barack Obama’s inauguration and included a rarely sung verse about a “Private Property” sign.
When and where the performance took place
The song was part of We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009. Obama, then president-elect, attended the free concert, which was broadcast nationally. The inauguration took place on January 20. The archived White House concert page describes the event; the Obama Presidential Library finding aid also catalogs videographer footage from the concert.
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Who performed “This Land Is Your Land”
Pete Seeger led the performance with Bruce Springsteen and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Seeger’s grandson. The song was written by Woody Guthrie. The audience joined in, making it a large sing-along rather than only a stage performance. Democracy Now!’s January 20, 2009 report includes video, audio and a rush transcript of the event.
The verse that made this rendition distinctive
Alongside the familiar refrain, Seeger led the crowd in the verse about walking by a “Private Property” sign and being told there was no trespassing. It is a verse often left out of performances of the song, and its inclusion gave this rendition a sharper edge than a simple patriotic sing-along. The Highlander Research and Education Center’s account also notes the audience participation and the rarely performed verse.
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How the song fit the event
The performance followed Obama’s remarks. In its report on the celebration, CBS News quoted the president-elect at the close of the event: “Never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard.” CBS’s contemporaneous coverage records the quotation and the song’s place in the program.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to revisit the performance
The archived White House page documents the concert, while Democracy Now!’s page provides a performance video, audio and transcript. Those pages establish access to concert material, but they do not establish that the White House clip contains the entire song. A Bruce Springsteen Collection catalog entry lists “This Land Is Your Land” on Warner Home Video’s release The Official Inaugural Celebration. That catalog listing confirms the performance is included on the release; it is not a current retailer listing or confirmation of present availability.
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