Annals of Mazeppism

And then there is Woody. My 8 year old son came home from school the other day singing "This Land Is Your Land." I asked him where he had learned the song and he told me he had learned it in music class in school. I asked him if they had taught him this verse:

Was a big high wall there, that tried to stop me,
a sign was painted, said "Private Property,"
but on the other side, it didn't say nothin'--
that side was made for you and me...


There are different versions of the verse but I take it on the authority of Joe Klein's biography of Guthrie that this particular version was one that Woody made a point of singing in concert. Woody was a border-crossin' transgressin' kind of guy. Anybody who would paint "This Machine Kills Fascists" on his guitar is a friend of Mazeppa's.