America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)

Sheet music^[1]

"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith.^[2] The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the Queen". The song served as one of the de facto national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columbia") before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official U.S. national anthem in 1931.^[3]

"My Country, 'Tis of Thee"

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Vocalists with concert band accompaniment, United States Air Force Heritage of America Band, 2002

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History[]

Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to "America" in 1831^[4] while a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. The use of the same melody as the British royal anthem can be described as a contrafactum which reworks this symbol of British monarchy to make a statement about American democracy.^[5]

Well-known composer Lowell Mason had requested that Smith translate or provide new lyrics for a collection of German songs, among them one written to this melody (unrelated to its British use). Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written, and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831,^[4] at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. The first publication of "America" was in 1832.^[4]

Lyrics[]

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From ev'ry mountainside
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 thrills,
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 fathers' 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!

Additional verse to celebrate Washington's Centennial:^[6]

Our joyful hearts today,
Their grateful tribute pay,
Happy and free,
After our toils and fears,
After our blood and tears,
Strong with our hundred years,
O God, to Thee!

Notable performances[]

Aretha Franklin at the first inauguration of Barack Obama

Marian Anderson performed the song at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939.
In the 1961 musical film West Side Story (1961 film), when the Puerto Rican gang is forced to leave a "war council" by a policeman, they whistle the anthem.^[7]
Martin Luther King Jr. recited the first verse of the song toward the end of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963.^[8]
Cary Grant and Jim Hutton sang the first verse in the 1966 film Walk, Don't Run, while simultaneously Grant and Samantha Eggar sang "God Save the Queen".
Crosby, Stills & Nash performed the song on the first episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to air after the September 11 attacks in 2001.^[9]
On January 20, 2009, Aretha Franklin sang the song at the first inauguration of Barack Obama.
On January 21, 2013, Kelly Clarkson sang the song at the public inauguration ceremony of the second inauguration of Barack Obama.
It was played at Senator John McCain's funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral on Sep 1, 2018.^[10]
The Doors used a guitar riff of the song at the beginning of their song "L.A. Woman" on the 40th anniversary editions of L.A. Woman in 2001 and on The Very Best of The Doors 2007 re-release.^{[citation needed]}
Madonna and Steven Klein sing some verses of the song in their Secret Project video.^[11]
Dan Berggren updated the song's lyrics in 2004 in a version slanted towards the environment and freedom. It appears as "From Every Mountain Side" on the 2006 Sleeping Giant Records album Fresh Territory.^[12]^{[non-primary source needed]}^[relevant?]
Alec Benjamin sings the first two lines of the song in his song titled "1994".^[13]

References[]

^ Free scores of "My country, 'tis of thee" #16830 in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki), PDF
^ "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
^ Snyder, Lois Leo (1990). Encyclopedia of Nationalism. Paragon House. p. 13. ISBN 1-55778-167-2.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Garraty, John A. & Carnes, Mark C., eds. (1999). American National Biography. 20. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 281.
^ Fassler, Margot Elsbeth (2014). Music in the Medieval West (First ed.). New York. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-393-92915-7. Examples of contrafacta abound in many times and cultures. My Country, 'Tis of Thee, for instance, is a contrafactum of an earlier English anthem, God Save the King, and the reworking makes a statement about American democracy.
^ Andrews, E. Benjamin (1912). History of the United States. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
^ Wise, Robert. "West Side Story (1961 film) Part 3 Summary and Analysis | GradeSaver". www.gradesaver.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
^ Hansen, Drew D. (2003). The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. New York: Harper Collins. p. 83.
^ Keveney, Bill (September 19, 2001). "Audience identifies with low-key Leno". USA Today. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
^ "Was God Save the Queen played at John McCain's funeral?". BBC News. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
^ Art For Freedom. "Art For Freedom". Archived from the original on 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
^ Dan Berggren (2004). "From Every Mountainside". soundcloud.com.
^ 1994, retrieved 2021-02-24

Bibliography[]

Collins, Ace (2003). Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs. HarperResource. ISBN 0060513047.
Music, David M.; Richardson, Paul A. (2008). I Will Sing the Wondrous Story: A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0865549487.

External links[]

Page about the song at the Library of Congress, with scans, etc.
Public Domain version of the sheet music in multiple formats for viewing, printing, editing, etc. – (from the Choral Public Domain Library)
Review of a book about the song from the Journal of American History
CyberHymnal – contains history, lyrics, and infinitely-looping MIDI music.
"America. The American national hymn" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

[1] Free scores of "My country, 'tis of thee" #16830 in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki), PDF

[2] "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved December 6, 2014.

[3] Snyder, Lois Leo (1990). Encyclopedia of Nationalism. Paragon House. p. 13. ISBN 1-55778-167-2.

[Oxford-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Garraty, John A. & Carnes, Mark C., eds. (1999). American National Biography. 20. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 281.

[5] Fassler, Margot Elsbeth (2014). Music in the Medieval West (First ed.). New York. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-393-92915-7. Examples of contrafacta abound in many times and cultures. My Country, 'Tis of Thee, for instance, is a contrafactum of an earlier English anthem, God Save the King, and the reworking makes a statement about American democracy.

[6] Andrews, E. Benjamin (1912). History of the United States. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

[Wise-7] Wise, Robert. "West Side Story (1961 film) Part 3 Summary and Analysis | GradeSaver". www.gradesaver.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.

[8] Hansen, Drew D. (2003). The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. New York: Harper Collins. p. 83.

[9] Keveney, Bill (September 19, 2001). "Audience identifies with low-key Leno". USA Today. Retrieved July 3, 2009.

[10] "Was God Save the Queen played at John McCain's funeral?". BBC News. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2019.

[11] Art For Freedom. "Art For Freedom". Archived from the original on 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2013-09-04.

[12] Dan Berggren (2004). "From Every Mountainside". soundcloud.com.

[13] 1994, retrieved 2021-02-24

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show v t National symbols of the United States
Symbols	Flag Great Seal Bald eagle Uncle Sam Columbia Phrygian cap General Grant (tree) American's Creed Pledge of Allegiance Rose Oak Bison
Landmarks	Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) Liberty Bell Mount Rushmore National Mall West Potomac Park
Mottos	In God We Trust E Pluribus Unum Novus ordo seclorum Annuit cœptis
Songs	"The Star-Spangled Banner" "Dixie" "America the Beautiful" "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "Hail to the Chief" "Hail, Columbia" "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" "God Bless America" "Lift Every Voice and Sing" "The Army Goes Rolling Along" "Anchors Aweigh" "Marines' Hymn" "Semper Fidelis" "The Air Force Song" "Semper Paratus" "National Emblem March" "The Washington Post March" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" "Yankee Doodle" "You're a Grand Old Flag" "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" "This Land Is Your Land"

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