"My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as simply "America", is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith.[2] The song served as one of the de facto national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columbia") before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official U.S. national anthem in 1931.[3] The melody used is adopted from the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the King".
Well-known composer Lowell Mason had requested that Smith translate or provide new lyrics for a collection of German songs, among them one written to this melody. Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written, and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831,[4] at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. The first publication of "America" was in 1832.[4]
Lyricsedit
An abolitionist version was written, by A. G. Duncan, 1843, with lyrics mentioning white and black races.[6] For Washington's Centennial celebration, another verse was added to the original version.[7]
Marian Anderson performed the song at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. Anderson, an African American singer, had been forbidden to perform at the DAR Constitution Hall due to its racist whites-only policy. After a national outcry, and with support from Eleanor Roosevelt, the concert was held on the steps of the memorial, and attracted a crowd of more than 75,000 in addition to a national radio audience of millions.[8]
^ abcGarraty, John A. & Carnes, Mark C., eds. (1999). American National Biography. Vol. 20. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 281.
^Fassler, Margot Elsbeth (2014). Music in the Medieval West (First ed.). New York. p. 5. ISBN978-0-393-92915-7. Examples of contrafacta abound in many times and cultures. My Country, 'Tis of Thee, for instance, is a contrafactum of an earlier English anthem, God Save the King, and the reworking makes a statement about American democracy.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Jarius Lincoln, [ed.] Antislavery Melodies: for The Friends of Freedom. Prepared for the Hingham Antislavery Society. Words by A. G. Duncan. (Hingham, [Mass.]: Elijah B. Gill, 1843), Hymn 17 6s & 4s (Tune – "America") pp. 28–29. Some of these verses can be heard in the recording of the Arizona State University Antislavery Ensemble. "My Country ‘Tis of Thee" (Vimeo). Arizona State University – Department of English. March 1, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2019..
^Andrews, E. Benjamin (1912). History of the United States. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
^Hansen, Jacqueline (2005). . United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2007.
^Hansen, Drew D. (2003). The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. New York: Harper Collins. p. 83.
^Keveney, Bill (September 19, 2001). "Audience identifies with low-key Leno". USA Today. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
^Ryan, Patrick; Dinges, Gary (January 19, 2021). "10 best inauguration performances of all time, including Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé". USA Today. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
^"Kelly Clarkson Sings 'My Country 'Tis of Thee' at Inauguration 2013". Wall Street Journal. January 21, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
Bibliographyedit
Collins, Ace (2003). Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs. HarperResource. ISBN0060513047.
Music, David M.; Richardson, Paul A. (2008). I Will Sing the Wondrous Story: A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. ISBN978-0865549487.
External linksedit
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
My Country 'Tis of Thee
Page about the song at the Library of Congress, with scans, etc.
Public Domain version of the sheet music in multiple formats for viewing, printing, editing, etc. – (from the Choral Public Domain Library)
Review of a book about the song from the Journal of American History
CyberHymnal – contains history, lyrics, and infinitely-looping MIDI music.
country, thee, also, known, simply, america, american, patriotic, song, lyrics, which, were, written, samuel, francis, smith, song, served, facto, national, anthems, united, states, along, with, songs, like, hail, columbia, before, adoption, star, spangled, ba. My Country Tis of Thee also known as simply America is an American patriotic song the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith 2 The song served as one of the de facto national anthems of the United States along with songs like Hail Columbia before the adoption of The Star Spangled Banner as the official U S national anthem in 1931 3 The melody used is adopted from the national anthem of the United Kingdom God Save the King Sheet music 1 My Country Tis of Thee source source track Vocalists with concert band accompaniment United States Air Force Heritage of America Band 2002 Problems playing this file See media help Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics 3 Notable performances 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksHistory editSamuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to America in 1831 4 while a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover Massachusetts The use of the same melody as the British royal anthem can be described as a contrafactum which reworks this symbol of British monarchy to make a statement about American democracy 5 Well known composer Lowell Mason had requested that Smith translate or provide new lyrics for a collection of German songs among them one written to this melody Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written and the song was first performed in public on July 4 1831 4 at a children s Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston The first publication of America was in 1832 4 Lyrics editAn abolitionist version was written by A G Duncan 1843 with lyrics mentioning white and black races 6 For Washington s Centennial celebration another verse was added to the original version 7 Notable performances edit nbsp Aretha Franklin age 66 singing My Country Tis Of Thee at the first inauguration of Barack Obama 20 January 2009 Marian Anderson performed the song at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday April 9 1939 Anderson an African American singer had been forbidden to perform at the DAR Constitution Hall due to its racist whites only policy After a national outcry and with support from Eleanor Roosevelt the concert was held on the steps of the memorial and attracted a crowd of more than 75 000 in addition to a national radio audience of millions 8 Martin Luther King Jr recited the first verse of the song toward the end of his famous I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28 1963 9 Crosby Stills amp Nash performed the song on the first episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that aired after the September 11 attacks in 2001 10 On January 20 2009 Aretha Franklin sang the song at the first inauguration of Barack Obama 11 Kelly Clarkson sang it at his second inauguration 12 See also editOther texts set to the same music E Ola Ke Aliʻi Ke Akua Heil dir im Siegerkranz Kongesangen Oben am jungen Rhein The Prayer of Russians Rufst du mein Vaterland Organ variations by Charles Ives Variations on America References edit Free scores of My country tis of thee 16830 in the Choral Public Domain Library ChoralWiki PDF My Country Tis of Thee The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Archived from the original on December 7 2014 Retrieved December 6 2014 Snyder Lois Leo 1990 Encyclopedia of Nationalism Paragon House p 13 ISBN 1 55778 167 2 a b c Garraty John A amp Carnes Mark C eds 1999 American National Biography Vol 20 New York Oxford University Press p 281 Fassler Margot Elsbeth 2014 Music in the Medieval West First ed New York p 5 ISBN 978 0 393 92915 7 Examples of contrafacta abound in many times and cultures My Country Tis of Thee for instance is a contrafactum of an earlier English anthem God Save the King and the reworking makes a statement about American democracy a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Jarius Lincoln ed Antislavery Melodies for The Friends of Freedom Prepared for the Hingham Antislavery Society Words by A G Duncan Hingham Mass Elijah B Gill 1843 Hymn 17 6s amp 4s Tune America pp 28 29 Some of these verses can be heard in the recording of the Arizona State University Antislavery Ensemble My Country Tis of Thee Vimeo Arizona State University Department of English March 1 2006 Retrieved May 17 2019 Andrews E Benjamin 1912 History of the United States New York Charles Scribner s Sons Hansen Jacqueline 2005 Marian Anderson Voice of the Century United States Postal Service Archived from the original on September 29 2007 Retrieved August 5 2007 Hansen Drew D 2003 The Dream Martin Luther King Jr and the Speech that Inspired a Nation New York Harper Collins p 83 Keveney Bill September 19 2001 Audience identifies with low key Leno USA Today Retrieved July 3 2009 Ryan Patrick Dinges Gary January 19 2021 10 best inauguration performances of all time including Lady Gaga Bruce Springsteen Beyonce USA Today Retrieved January 16 2023 Kelly Clarkson Sings My Country Tis of Thee at Inauguration 2013 Wall Street Journal January 21 2013 Retrieved September 13 2022 Bibliography editCollins Ace 2003 Songs Sung Red White and Blue The Stories Behind America s Best Loved Patriotic Songs HarperResource ISBN 0060513047 Music David M Richardson Paul A 2008 I Will Sing the Wondrous Story A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America Macon Georgia Mercer University Press ISBN 978 0865549487 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article My Country Tis of Thee Page about the song at the Library of Congress with scans etc Public Domain version of the sheet music in multiple formats for viewing printing editing etc from the Choral Public Domain Library Review of a book about the song from the Journal of American History CyberHymnal contains history lyrics and infinitely looping MIDI music America The American national hymn New International Encyclopedia 1905 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title My Country 27Tis of Thee amp oldid 1183877712, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
