Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Samuel FrancisSmith

243 America

MY country, ’t is 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 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 I sing;

Long may our land be bright

With freedom’s holy light;

Protect us by thy might,

Great God our King.
1832.