This Land is Your Land

Guthrie portrays his view of America in this song. He believes that the government tries to cover up the real America that isn't as good as it seems with this image of a perfect society. We see this in the line reading, "And on the sign it said 'No Trespassing,' But on the other side it didn't say nothing." This shows that the government has areas we are not supposed to see represented with the "No Trespassing" sign. Away from this sign, the narrator was able to freely wander, showing how this is the part of America the government wants us to see. He uses imagery throughout the beginning of the song to portray the "perfect" America such as "ribbon of highway," "endless skyway," and "golden valley." These make the audience visualize this great land that belongs to us ("This land is your land. This land is my land.") but when he sees the reality of America, such as his hungry people in the shadow of the steeple, he realizes the underlying situation of this illusuion of a "perfect" land created by the government.