Patriotic
America, Our Home
Sung, to music composed by the author, at the anniversary of the battle of Concord, at Concord, Mass., 1898.
This land of ours, we love it.
’Tis Freedom’s own, where reign
No tyrants throned above it
O’er serfs that wear their chain;
Where birth and wealth to worth give way,
And none in camp or court have sway,
Except as all ordain.
Chorus:
O Land that leaves the true man free
For all the soul would do or be,
Thank Heaven for life that gave us thee,
America, our home!
Kind homes are ours that wake us
To life whose morn is bright.
Free schools are ours that make us
Believe in truth and right.
Our churches all are churches taught
That conscience guides the wisest thought,
And love wins more than might.
Chorus: O Land that leaves, etc.
We love the rule that trains us
To duty, self-control’d,
And honor’d toil that gains us
What order helps us hold;
Where never, save for threaten’d right,
Our starry flags, like stars at night,
O’er war’s dark storms unfold.
Chorus: O Land that leaves, etc.
We love the life that bears us
Toward all that seers can see,
And, led by hope, prepares us
The whole world’s hope to be,
When, in the day that war shall cease,
Our Golden Rule shall keep the peace,
And all mankind be free.
Chorus: O Land that leaves, etc.