The House I Live In

What is America to me?

A name, a map, 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

A place I work in

Worker by my side

A little town or city

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

The little corner newsstand

And the house a mile tall

The wedding and the churchyard

The laughter and the tears

And the dream that's been a-growing

For a hundred and eighty years

The town 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 million lights I see

But especially the people

That's America to me