My Country ‘Tis of Thee & Samuel Francis Smith

My mom has been taking me all over our town of Newton since I got better. I like riding in the car but many times we walk, which I really love.  Right before we reach the center of town, we pass the place where Samuel Francis Smith used to live*, and there is a stone there that marks the spot, something I know a lot about. Who is Samuel Francis Smith? He is the man who wrote the lyrics to the song America, also known as My Country Tis of Thee. And he lived in the home right on the spot where I am sitting!

My mom included the words to this song here:

1. My country,’ tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims’ pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

2. My native country, thee,
land of the noble free, thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

3. Let music swell the breeze,
and ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song;
let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

4. Our fathers’ God, to thee,
author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom’s holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.

I like when he writes about the hills, and the rocks, and the breeze, and the trees, though I don’t know what a rill is. But this is an important place in our town!

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* 1181 Centre Street, Newton Centre