My Country, 'Tis of Thee
My Country, 'Tis of Thee is a patriotic song developed in 1831 by Baptist Minister Samuel Francis Smith, which served as a de facto National Anthem until 1931, when The Star-Spangled Banner was made the official anthem.[1]
It uses the same melody as God Save the Queen.
Lyrics
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Let freedom ring.
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrims’ Pride,
From every mountain side
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble, free,
Like that above.
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills,
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
The sound prolong.
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake,
Let rocks their silence break,
Our fathers’ God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
Great God, our King.
To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
