The House I Live In (That's America to Me)

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 at my side The little town, the city Where my people lived and died The howdy and the handshake The air of 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 The little corner newsstand And the house a mile tall The wedding and the churchyard The laughter and the tears The dream that's been growing For a hundred and fifty years The town I live in The street, the house, the room The pavement of the city Or the garden all in bloom The church the school the clubhouse The millions lights I see But especially the people That's America to me