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