This Land is Your Land

Now, whenever somebody asks me who I think is a real music legend and genius, I can quite confidently respond with "Woody Guthrie."

I'm really quite surprised how I haven't heard of this name before (actually, I probably have before, but just never registered who it was beyond the name). I was astounded to learn that this musician wrote over 1000 songs in his lifetime, and indeed he is considered a legend of American folk music that's contributed much more to American culture than I ever fully realized. But I was even more impressed when I learned about his extreme talent as a musician combined with his social consciousness. As someone who had lived through extreme adversities and so many major global events in his life, Guthrie really impressed the world by internalizing all of that and creating so many classic songs out of it. He is regarded as a "spokesman for the common man" because his songs and his life embody the values and experiences that are quintessentially human. Guthrie lived through harsh times and endured loss, poverty, misfortune, disease, but also imbued elements of hope, optimism, determination, and resilience through his songs. Of course, the classic song is "This Land is Your Land," a song that I've heard and grew up with since primary school. In this piece, I depict a single figure that is representative of people as a whole. I try to convey the feeling of holding your ground even with the impending fear and adversity that may be headed your way. It's a feeling I experience a lot, and I always hope to learn from the optimism and anti-fragility of people who have gone through so much but always emerge better out of it.