My Country, 'Tis of Thee - Patriotic Songs
The words to this patriotic American hymn were written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831, who originally named the song simply America. Smith set his new lyrics to a tune he had been given by a friend, not realizing he was celebrating his native country using a version of the British national anthem, 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 Pilgrims’ 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 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!
