When Lady Gaga was announced as the performer of this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, many of her fans were curious if the singer would get political during her 13-minute set. NFL senior VP of programming Mark Quenzel told Billboard of Gaga’s plans: “We have no discussions about her or with her that have to do with the election, or the president. “You’re black, white, beige, chola descent/You’re Lebanese, you’re orient,” she sang, and later, “No matter gay, straight, or bi/Lesbian, transgendered life/I’m on the right track baby/I was born to survive.” It was doubtless the first time the word “transgendered” had been sung at a Super Bowl halftime show. The lyrics, in full, read: 
 
 This land is your land 
 
 This land is my land From California to the New York island; From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and Me. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Sign Up for the Louder Newsletter Every week, stay on top of the latest in pop and jazz with reviews, interviews, podcasts and more from The New York Times music critics. / But on the other side it didn't say nothing, / That side was made for you and me. Nobody living can ever stop me, / As I go walking that freedom highway; / Nobody living can ever make me turn back / This land was made for you and me.
– Despite anticipation that Lady Gaga would make some kind of political statement during the Super Bowl halftime show, the pop star appeared to play nice, a performance of the LGBT-friendly "Born This Way" aside. Even prominent conservatives hailed her "apolitical" show, the Washington Post notes, with tweeted praise from the likes of Fox News, Marco Rubio, and even Ivanka Trump. But Vanity Fair reports that an "edgy political statement" may have been a "dog whistle" for President Trump protesters with Gaga's choice of opening songs, a double hit of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" followed by a portion of "This Land Is Your Land"—and the latter Woody Guthrie song is where Gaga's hidden message may lie. Guthrie's son Arlo has said his dad wrote "This Land" as a biting response to Berlin's patriotic song, and in the 1944 version the elder Guthrie recorded on his guitar—he owned one sporting a "This Machine Kills Fascists" sticker—the fourth verse contains some interesting (and timely Trump-tied lyrics) that have since fallen out of the versions we hear today. To wit: "There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me / The sign was painted, said 'Private Property' / But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing." Vanity Fair notes that Trump protesters have been crooning the song at rallies lately, and Arlo Guthrie and other singers like Bruce Springsteen keep the original lyrics in when they perform the song. In other words, Teen Vogue may have picked up on something major outlets missed. (Gaga made a big announcement after the Super Bowl.)