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, 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, all religions That's America to me The place I work in The workers at my side The little town, a city Where my people live and die 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 in the church yard The laughter and the tears The dream that's been a-growing For one hundred and fifty years The town I live in The street, the house, the room The pavement of a city Of 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