Monday, July 3, 2006

Happy 230th Birthday, USA

AMERICA (My Country 'Tis of Thee)
lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith, 1832,
sung to the tune of "God Save the Queen"

My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.


Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our father's God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Hancock and the 52 others who agreed to the text of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776 got it right - thank goodness.

This song is my favorite patriotic song, but it isn't played as much as "America the Beautiful" or "God Bless America."

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