Many are quick to note that the song itself wasn’t designed to be a patriotic anthem. Famous folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land is Your Land” in the 1940s as a sarcastic retort to Irving Berlin's classic "God Bless America,” that he felt was overplayed at the time. The original song included more critical lyrics that have been lost across the decades – and even more radical verses that were never released – juxtaposing farmers’ struggles, depicting struggles of toiling farmers, poverty, hunger, and land disenfranchisement (NPR). But today, only the sanitized versions remain, often sung alongside “God Bless America” or other patriotic songs at large events.

But, as Raye Zaragoza, a singer, songwriter, and podcaster of Indigenous descent, emphasizes, there’s a difference between impact and intent. Guthrie may not have intended for this song to come off as an anthem for colonization, but that’s exactly how it’s being used today. “As a songwriter,” she explains, “I can’t imagine how it would feel if someone chopped up my song, but that’s the impact.”