This Land Was Your Land!
After deciding by a 5 to 4 vote that your local government has the right to take your property away from you and give it to other private individuals as long as their proposed use of your land will generate more taxes, the justices headed straight to the recording studio and cut this cute little number. "This Land Was Your Land" by The Supremes is getting everyone a little hot under the collar this summer, because whose house wouldn't generate more taxes if it was razed and replaced with a Motel 666? That's right, your home is no longer your castle and can now be taken from you at anytime at the whim of well connected developers. Never give Wal*Mart your address, no matter how tempting it may be to get a rain check for the giant 52 roll pack of Charmin on sale for $9.99!
This land was your land,
And now it's my land,
From Grandpa's farm
To your vacation island,
From your suburban back yard,
To your investment property,
This land was made for developing.
As I was owning,
That peaceful acre,
I saw behind me
The greedy developer,
I saw beside me
The corrupt politician.
Eminent domain will take my land from me.
I've remodeled and I've planted
And I've painted and I've decorated
From the eaves down to the foundation
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land will be taken away from you
A court was hearing
About the fifth amendment
Private property may be only
Taken for public uses
But if a Wal*Mart will pay more taxes
This land is now their land, not yours
As I was walkin'
I saw a sign there
And that sign said "Site is Blighted"
We want a Wal*Mart, and not a forest
If we collect more taxes
It's a public use for you and me
In the blocks of the city
In the fields of the farm
Near the suburban streets
Property rights are being harmed
And some are fighting
And some are angry
Is this land still owned by you and me?
No developer can ever stop me
From owning my piece of property
Their definition of "public use"
Is making the developers richer
My land is owned by only me
