November 12, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, November 12.
Yesterday, of course, was Veteran’s Day. Perhaps you had the opportunity to attend a ceremony in your community, or maybe the chance to greet a veteran with “Thank you for your service!” I hope so. Here at the Daily Devotion we’ve been featuring stories this week behind our favorite patriotic songs. Here’s another one.
Did you know that one of the most popular patriotic songs is actually a protest song? Yesterday we looked at the story behind “God Bless America”. Everybody loves that song, right? Well, there was one guy who didn’t - the legendary American folk singer Woody Guthrie. He got so tired of hearing Kate Smith singing it that he decided to write a rebuttal. And that “protest” song was “This Land is Your Land.”
Dissent and protest have been part of American life from the very beginning. And thank heaven for that. There are many countries in the world today where protest is a punishable offense, sometimes by death. Our freedom to disagree, sometimes publicly, is a treasured American birthright. Woody Guthrie knew that, and so did Irving Berlin. And, by the way, in 1984 “This Land is Your Land” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame... right next to “God Bless America.”
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
P.S. - There’s a patriotic music event tonight (November 12) at 7pm at the Community House in Center, Texas. I’ll be part of it. If you’re a local reader, you’re invited too!
