What is America to me?

A name, a map, or a flag I see

A certain word, democracy

What is America to me?

The house I live in, a plot of earth, a street

The grocer and the butcher, and the people that I meet

The children in the playground, the faces that I see

All races and religions, that’s America to me

The place I work in, the worker by my side

The little town or village, where my people lived and died

The howdy and the handshake, the air a feeling free

And the right to speak my mind out, that’s America to me

The things I see about me, the big things and the small

That little corner newsstand, or the house a mile tall

The wedding and the churchyard, the laughter and the tears

And the dream that’s been a growin, for about two hundred years

The place I live in, the street, the house, the room

The pavement of the city, or a garden all in bloom

The church the school the clubhouse, the millions lights I see

But especially the people, yes especially the people

That’s America to me

Songwriters: Lewis Allan / Earl Robinson

The House I Live In lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.