Saturday, March 27, 2010

An ode to Progressive Patriotism

The New Statesman this week has published the Top 20 Political songs as voted for by their readers and members of the Politcal Studies Association. Surprisingly no mention of Rule Britannia, The Boys behind the Wire, Land of Hope and Glory or The Sash, but some great tunes there none the less.

At number one is "a patriotic song about inclusiveness, unity, and love for the land", Woodie Guthrie’s "This Land is your Land" - a song that’s been covered numerous times since, most famously perhaps at the Obama Inauguration Celebration by Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger.

Springsteen’s not normally my cup of tea, but this (from an earlier concert) is brilliant:

2 comments:

tony said...

Flower of Scotland, Scots wha hae, the patriot game, the foggy dew, even the proclaimers with the immortal line

"Ah can't understand why we let someone else rule our land..........cap'n'hand..."

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting, I never heard this before, one of my favorite songs sung by one of my favorite artists.

Rory