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America

"My Country, 'Tis of Thee," also known as "America," is an American patriotic song. The melody, based on the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen," which itself is based on Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto in D, No. 3 for harp. The melody has been used by many other countries. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... This is an incomplete list. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogizing the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nations government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... God Save the King/Queen is a patriotic hymn, and the national anthem of the United Kingdom. ... Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced ) (21 March 1685 O.S. – 28 July 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. ...

The lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" were written in 1831 by Reverend Samuel Francis Smith of Boston's Park Street Church while at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. The song served as a de facto national anthem for much of the 19th century. Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Samuel Francis Smith (October 21, 1808-November 16, 1895) was the composer of a well-known patriotic song, America. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1 Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area    - City 232. ... Park Street Church, Boston The Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts is an active Conservative Congregational Church at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street. ... Andover Theological Seminary, now part of Andover Newton Theological School, is the oldest graduate school of theology in the United States. ...   Settled: 1642 â€“ Incorporated: 1646 Zip Code(s): 01810 â€“ Area Code(s): 351 / 978 Official website: http://andoverma. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

Lyrics

1

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!

2

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.

3

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.

4

My 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.

Cultural references

• Martin Luther King Jr. quoted this song during his "I Have A Dream" speech.
• Ani Difranco referred to this song ironically in her song "Tis Of Thee", which includes the line, "My country 'tis of thee, to take shots at each other on talk show TV."
• George Orwell also wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four that Oceania's national anthem was titled "Oceania, 'Tis for Thee", a name which appears to be derived from "My Country, 'Tis of Thee".
• A song supporting women's suffrage, "The New America," is a spin-off of this song. It reflects a common suffrage argument--that giving women the vote simply fulfilled the promise of 1776.
• George and Ira Gershwin wrote the 1931 political satire musical Of Thee I Sing, but the "thee" in this case was not the USA but rather the President's romantic interest.
• In the PC game Deus Ex, a homeless man sings the song just outside Castle Clinton.
• In the South Park episode World Wide Recorder Concert, four million third-graders from around the country are organized by Kenny G and Yoko Ono to play the song on recorders. However, the song is ruined by the bizarre effect of the brown note.
• In the Simpsons episode Moaning Lisa, Lisa begins to play bebop during a band practise of this song.
• Singer Neil Diamond quoted this song in his song "America".

Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Ani DiFranco (IPA: ) (born Angela Marie Difranco on September 23, 1970) is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. ... Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903[1][2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was a British author and journalist. ... Nineteen Eighty-Four (commonly written as 1984) is a dystopian novel by the English writer George Orwell, published in 1949. ... Oceania is one of the three super-states in George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and is the location of the novels version of London, where Winston Smith, the main character, lives. ... George and Ira Gershwin were brothers George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin who became famous as songwriters. ... Of Thee I Sing is a musical set in the White House, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, to a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. ... This article is about an interactive computer and video game. ... Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton is a circular sandstone fort and national monument in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, New York City. ... South Park is an American, Emmy Award-winning animated television comedy series about four fourth grade school boys who live in the small town of South Park, Colorado. ... World Wide Recorder Concert, which is also sometimes titled The Brown Noise in videos and other sources (including iTunes), is episode 317 of the Comedy Central series South Park. ... For the WFMU DJ, see Kenneth Goldsmith. ... Yoko Ono Lennon (born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese musician and artist best known as the widow of John Lennon of The Beatles. ... Various recorders The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina. ... The brown note, according to an urban legend, is an infrasonic frequency that causes humans to lose control of their bowels due to resonance. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Moaning Lisa was the sixth full length Simpsons episode released on television. ... Essential Neil Diamond album cover. ...

External links

• Review of a book about the song from the Journal of American History
• CyberHymnal page - contains history, lyrics, and infinitely-looping MIDI music.

Patriotic music of the United States

"America the Beautiful" • "Ballad of the Green Berets" • "Battle Cry of Freedom" • "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" • "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" • "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" • "For The Dear Old Flag, I Die" • "God Bless America" • "God Bless the USA" • "Hail, Columbia" • "Hail to the Chief" • "The Liberty Bell" • "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" • "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" • "Over There" • "PT-109" • "Stars and Stripes Forever" • "The Star-Spangled Banner" • "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving" • "This is My Country" • "This Land Is Your Land" • "Yankee Doodle" • "The Yankee Doodle Boy" • "You're a Grand Old Flag" • "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" The bombardment of Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the lyrics for thenational anthem. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... America the Beautiful is an American patriotic song which rivals The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States, in popularity. ... Album cover Ballad of the Green Berets is a patriotic song in the ballad style about the Green Berets, an elite special operations force in the U.S. Army. ... Battle Cry of Freedom is a song written in 1862 by American composer George F. Root (1825–1895) during the American Civil War. ... The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a patriotic anthem, written by Julia Ward Howe, that was made popular during the American Civil War. ... Columbia, Gem of the Ocean is an United States patriotic song which was popular in the 19th and early 20th century. ... Eternal Father, Strong to Save, is a hymn often associated with the Royal Navy or the United States Navy. ... For The Dear Old Flag, I Die is a U.S. Civil War song. ... God Bless America is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. ... God Bless the USA is an American patriotic song written by nationalist country musician Lee Greenwood. ... Hail, Columbia was the unofficial national anthem of the United States until its replacement in 1931 by the officially mandated Star-Spangled Banner. It was originally composed by Joseph Hopkinson in the late 18th century. ... Sheet music for the chorus to Hail to the Chief Hail to the Chief is the official anthem of the President of the United States. ... The Liberty Bell is an American military march composed by famous bandmaster John Philip Sousa in 1893, and is considered one of his finest works. ... African American flag Lift Evry Voice and Sing — often called The Black National Anthem — was written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) in 1899. ... Over There is a 1917 song popular with United States soldiers in both world wars. ... PT-109 was a song by Jimmy Dean about the adventures of John F. Kennedy and the crew of the PT-109. ... The Stars and Stripes Forever is a patriotic American march. ... Nicholson took the copy Key had given him to a printer, who published it as a broadside on 17 September, 1814 under the title Defense of Fort McHenry, with a note explaining the circumstances of its writing. ... One of the most popular war songs, written during World War II is Paul Roberts and Shelby Carnells (Bob Miller) Theres A Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere. ... This is My Country is an American folk song composed in 1940. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: This Land is Your Land This Land Is Your Land is one of the United States most famous folk songs, written by Woody Guthrie in 1940. ... Yankee Doodle is a well-known American song, often sung patriotically today . ... The Yankee Doodle Boy is a patriotic song from the Broadway musical Little Johnny Jones written by George M. Cohan. ... Youre a Grand Old Flag is a patriotic song of the United States. ... When Johnny Comes Marching Home (sometimes When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again) is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed peoples longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war. ... Armed services: "The Army Goes Rolling Along" • "Anchors Aweigh" • "The U.S. Air Force" • "Marines' hymn" • "Semper Paratus" The military of the United States, officially known as the United States Armed Forces, is structured into five branches consisting of the: United States Army United States Navy United States Marine Corps United States Air Force United States Coast Guard; these comprise five of the seven United States Uniformed Services. ... The song was originally written by field artillery First Lieutenant (later Brigadier General) Edmund L. Gruber, while stationed in the Philippines in 1908 as the Caisson Song. ... Original sheet music cover // Anchors Aweigh is the song of the United States Navy, composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmerman with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. ... The U.S. Air Force is the official song of the United States Air Force. ... The Marines Hymn is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. ... Semper Paratus (march) Semper Paratus (Latin for Always ready) is the official slogan of the United States Coast Guard. ...