The House I LIve In

What is America to me?
A name, a map, the flag I see
A certain word, democracy
What is America to me?

The house I live in, a plot of earth, the street
The grocer and the butcher and the people that I meet
The children in the playground, the faces that I see
All races, all religions, that's America to me

The place I work in, the worker at my side
A little town, a city, where my people lived and died
The "howdy" and the handshake, the air of feeling free
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, the house a mile tall
The wedding in the churchyard, the laughter and the tears
The dreams that's been burning for a hundred fifty 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
And especially the people, that's America to me