An American Song

During dinner tonight at Sweet Tomatoes, I asked my kids if they sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee at school. My kids said no, although they did say the Pledge of Allegiance, they told me. My wife added that when she substitute teaches at public schools, the students also do not sing My Country, 'Tis of Thee at school (and that some do not even say the Pledge of Allegiance).

I then sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee to my kids and told them I used to sing it as a first- and second-grader in a public elementary school named Jean Parker in San Francisco. I still retain this memory of being in my Jean Parker schoolroom at the end of the school day with the sun shining brightly through the windows. We had just placed our chairs on our desks to make it easier for the janitor to sweep the floors. We then stood by our desk, placed our hands on our hearts, faced the U.S. flag at the front of the room near the teacher's desk, and together sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee as the last final act before being dismissed from class.

That simple act remains with me today. The lyrics remain with me today. The part of the song that says, "Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrims' Pride," remains with me today. That sense of being a part of something larger, which I felt even as a child, remains with me today. It would be a good thing for our students today to sing this song. I'll continue to sing this song with my kids so that they will learn this song.

My Country, 'Tis of Thee

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!

(above lyrics copied from Wikipedia; song written by Samuel Francis Smith)