From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters....

In honor of the 4th of July, I'm wearing red, white, and blue today. Which I find a little funny, since I would never be so overtly patriotic in the US. But I figured that only a few people would pick up on in here, and even if they do, they won't know which kind of people dress up for the 4th in the US (you know, Republicans). Besides, Martin is totally (and I think unintentionally) wearing red and blue today.

Jenny is also holding a 4th of July party tonight. The Germans keep asking what this holiday is about. I said, incorrectly, that it was the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. In fact, according to wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, it is the day that the Continental Congress approved the declaration and sent it to the printer. It may have been signed that day, but the fancy one that we see in the National Archives was signed on August 2. I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed about that mistake. Katy?

One of the interesting things about the 4th of July wikipedia article is that they mention that Americans celebrate the holiday by singing patriotic songs (I don't usually, but I guess some people do) and they specifically mention "This Land is Your Land." This song brought back a really vivid memory of learning the words in my 5th grade chorus class - with Ms. Randall. We learned a lot of patriotic songs there... for example "Fifty Nifty United States," and the one about the Eagle. Sarah - you know the words "he was free-e-e, when we let him be-e." I'd link to it if I had any idea what the title was. I know that we also sang "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" and "From a Distance" which had something to do with a program that the students of East Newton Elementary were putting on to honor the troops in the first Gulf War. I remember specifically that I had a Girl Scout activity that evening and couldn't participate. I also remember that Ida Beth S. gave me a hard time about it. I think she called into question my patriotism. Which, in retrospect, is probably fair given how I've turned out.

So...to honor our sometimes great and sometimes not-so-great country, let's all join together singing the chorus of Woody Guthrie's famous song:

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California to the New York Island

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.

Good. I hope that song is stuck in your head all day too.

****UPDATE******
I've been assigned the task of putting together an All American Mix Tape for the party tonight. I'm not sure I'm qualified for this job. I need suggestions people. It can either be songs about the US, or songs that inspire an American kind of feeling. No Toby Keith, please.