by Samuel Francis Smith (1808 - 1895)
America
Language: English
My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing: land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every 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. No more shall tyrants here With haughty steps appear, And soldier bands; No more shall tyrants tread Above the patriot dead— No more our blood be shed By alien hands. 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.
See also Julia Ward Howe's The Hymn and Ambrose Bierce's A Rational Anthem.
Text Authorship:
- by Samuel Francis Smith (1808 - 1895), "America", written 1831 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-25
Line count: 35
Word count: 153