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"My Country, 'Tis of Thee," also known as "America," is an American Patriotic Song . The melody is derived from the British National Anthem , " God Save The Queen ". The song served as a de facto national anthem for much of the 19th century. HISTORY The lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" were written in 1831 by Samuel Francis Smith while a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover , Massachusetts . He had been asked by his friend, Lowell Mason to review some melodies for possible use by school children in Boston . One melody in particular caught his attention and he wrote ''My Country, 'Tis of Thee'', to go along with it. He had never heard the tune before and had no idea of its derivation or associations. Smith gave Mason the lyrics and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston.Bonsall, Elizabeth Hubbard, ''Famous Hymns with Stories and Pictures'', 2nd ed., (1927), Philadelphia: The Union Press, p. 48. 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 :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. |
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