Being grateful: “America the Beautiful/Oseh Shalom” and “This Land Is My Land”

By Arlene Stolnitz

As with many others, I have been thinking a lot about what is important to me lately. The pandemic has caused us to examine our priorities more closely. For some, material things have become less important, as we have become more reflective during this prolonged period of time.

I have come to appreciate many things I had taken for granted. This led me to think about why our forefathers came to this country. What motivated them to take that arduous journey, giving up family and friends, in search of a better way of life?

As I contemplated their reasons, two songs that I recently heard, each very different from the other, but expressing a similar sentiment, came to mind.

“American the Beautiful/ Oseh Shalom”

This song is performed by two very talented musicians: Dan Nichols, vocalist and guitarist, and Elana Arian, featured on vocals and violin.

Nichols, who lives in Raleigh, NC, has had a legendary career in the world of Jewish music, but what impressed me most about him was his desire to have a meaningful connection with Jewish youth. In 1995, he formed the Jewish rock band, Eighteen, and co-founded Shulhouse Rock, a song-leading workshop for Jewish high school students. He performs around the world serving in congregations, camps, and at BBYO and NIFTY conferences.

The recording of “America the Beautiful,” coupled with “Oseh Shalom,” is a beautiful reminder of how precious our country is, with all the stunning images from around the beautiful country in which we live. When hearing the surprise during the second part of the recording, when “Oseh Shalom” is sung to the tune of “America the Beautiful,” Cantor Marci Vitkus from the Jewish Congregation of Venice called it “Brilliant!”

“This Land is Your Land”

You may remember that, back in the ’40s, Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land is Your Land,” to protest Irving Berlin’s song, “God Bless America.” Although not Jewish himself, but with a Jewish mother-in-law, Guthrie often wrote songs on Jewish themes.

The version of the song that is meaningful to me was created by punk-klezmer musician, Daniel Kahn, and is sung in Yiddish! Kahn took Guthrie’s ballad, which was often thought of as radical, and put a Jewish spin on the verse, creating it in “solidarity with Indigenous, Black and immigrant voices calling for power, reparation and justice in this land.”

Az ikh ver elter Dos iz mayn kholem Ikh vintsh far kinder A velt mit sholem A land fin lernen A land fin mentchlekheyt Dos land is dayne dos iz mayn

(As I grow older This is my dream:

I wish for children A world of peace A land for learning A land of humanity This land is yours and this is mine.) In the video of “This Land is Your Land,” be sure to notice the cool map of the United States, “Yiddish Map (Guide to the US for Jewish Immigrants),” with the names of the states written in Yiddish. It is available for purchase at the National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH Museum Store), judaicashop.net, $14.95.

“America the Beautiful/Oseh Shalom” by Dan Nichols and Elana Arian, and “This Land is Your Land” by Daniel Kahn can be found on YouTube.