Live 11 May 1981 version
[Spoken intro:] Back in uh... in 1977 we played in Memphis, Tennesee. And we hadn't been down South that much. And it was after the show, we were sitting in the hotel and we were gonna go out and get something to eat. So we got in this cab with this cab driver and we said, "Take us someplace way outside of town, we need something to eat." He says, "Alright, so I'll take you right by Elvis's house." So we said... (chuckles) so we said, "You know where Elvis' house is?" He says, "Yeah, I'll take you right by there," "Let's go there right now." So went down uh... Elvis Presley Boulevard and we got out in front of the, the house. It was about 3:30 in the morning and the gates were all locked up. And I looked in through the gates and I seen like one light on. And I said, "Wow, that that must be Elvis's room, he must be up reading." And I wanted to say hello. So, so the taxi cab driver says, "No, don't, don't go over there because they got big dogs and they'll eat you up and you'll be done for." So I jumped up over the wall... (cheers) I jumped down on the other side and I went into my attack position... (laughs from the crowd) And uh... I ran up the driveway and there was nobody there, I didn't see nobody, I didn't hear no alarms going off or anything. So I got right in front of the door and I was about to knock (someone in the audience barks) and this guy... (laughs from the crowd and cheers) We have a vicious old dog, right? (laughs from the crowd) And, and this guy comes out of the woods and says, "What do you want?" I said, "Well, is Elvis home?" (laughs from the crowd) He says, "No, Mr. Elvis, Elvis he's in Lake Tahoe." I said, "Well, can you tell him that I stopped by or something?" (laughs from the crowd) And I said, "I got a band and we played in town tonight and, you know, we've made some records and stuff." And he goes, "Yeah, sure, sure." (chuckles) (laughs from the crowd) So, ???, then he says, "Well, you gotta get out." So he walked me down the driveway and he let me out. But, uh, so I never, I never... I don't know if he was up reading or not. (laughs from the crowd) But it wasn't long after that that, that he died. And I remember sitting home wondering how somebody, somebody that had so much and, and, and seemed like such a winner, so alive, could in the end... and lose, lose as heavy as he did, you know. And this song is a song by Woody Guthrie, and it's a song about, it's a song about living free, you know. And, and it's a song about not having to, not having to, to die, you know, 55 or 65, or you can't find a job... it's about, it's about not having to die in some, in some fancy mansion with, with a whole lot of nothing running through your veins. So... it's called "This Land Is Your Land".
Well once I rode that ribbon highway
I saw above me the endless sky
I saw below me a golden valley
Oh this land was made for you and me
Well I roamed and I rambled, and I followed my footsteps
Through the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was crying
It sighed this land was made for you and me
Well the sun came shining as I went strolling
Through the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
And the bells were ringing and the fog was lifting
And this land was made for you and me
Well this land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream waters
Oh this land was made for you and me
Now they're dying on the streets of New York and down in Liberty City
And in Harlem County, in the streets of Brixton
People wonder, the people worry
If this land was made for you and me
The above lyrics are for the live 11 May 1981 performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND at City Hall in Newcastle, England, during The River Tour. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. This version is one of eight on this tour that feature Springsteen's own "Liberty City" verse. Here Springsteen adds a reference to the 1981 Brixton riot that took place the previous month.
This concert was originally scheduled for 31 Mar 1981 (see ticket stub and pass above) but was rescheduled reportedly due to Springsteen's exhaustion following the first 1981 North American leg of the tour.
List of available versions of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND on this website:
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [1988 studio version]
