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 or city where my people lived and died The "howdy" and the hand-shake, the air of feeling free 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 news-stand and the house a mile tall The wedding and the churchyard, the laughter and the tears The dream that's been a growin' for a hundred fifty years The town I live in, the street, the house, the room The pavement of the city, or a garden all in bloom The church, the school, the club house The million lights I see, but especially the people, that's America to me