As a child, this song arrived when I was six and had a profound influence on me. It challenged how we could imagine ourselves and I’m still humming it 50 years later. But it could use some updating to move beyond the binary that they were still living in. What do you think of these more open gender role lyrics?
There’s a land that I see where the people are free
And I say it ain’t far to this land from where we are
Take my hand, come with me, where the people are free
Come with me, take my hand, and we’ll live
In a land where the river runs free
In a land through the green country
In a land to a shining sea
And you and me are free to be, you and me
I see a land bright and clear, and the time’s comin’ near
When we’ll live in this land, you and me, hand in hand
Take my hand, come along, lend your voice to our song
Come along, take my hand, sing a song
For a land where the river runs free
For a land through the green country
For a land to a shining sea
For a land where the animals run free
And you and me are free to be you and me
Everyone in this place, grows within a shared space
In this land, every soul, matures to be, sound and whole
Take my hand, come with me where the people are free
Come with me, take my hand, and we’ll build
A bright land where the river runs free
A fair land through the green country
A starry land to a shining sea
A traquil land where the animals run free
A just land where the people are free
And you and me are free to be
And you and me are free to be
And you and me are free to be you and me