My Country ‘Tis of Thee
On July 4, 1831, at a children's concert in Park Street Church in Boston, My Country ’Tis of Thee was first sung. While the origin of the tune is widely debated, the lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. He wrote them while he was at Andover Theological Seminary in 1831. During this time he was approached by Lowell Mason, a famous organist and composer. Mason had some German school music books that he asked Smith to either translate or write new lyrics for. While looking through the songs, Smith was intrigued by one melody and wrote the following lyrics:
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 mountain side
Let Freedom ring.
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.
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.
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.
The idea of freedom in today’s society can take on many different meanings. But what this song reminds us of when it speaks of America being the “land of the pilgrims’ pride” is that the particular freedom that pilgrims sought was the freedom to worship.
The theme of being able to worship freely is further echoed in the second verse when it talks of nature singing “sweet freedom’s song.” In Psalm 19:1, David says, “the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” And in Luke 19:40, Jesus talks of the stones crying out, a scripture which seems to be directly referred to in the line “let rocks their silence break.”
This song not only highlights the freedom America hopes to achieve but defines it as well. In the last verse, it names God as the “Author of liberty” while simultaneously referring to Him as “Great God our King.” How unique that America is known for breaking away from the King of England, but here we name a new king. While this may seem like a contradiction, what Smith knew is that there is a certain freedom that can only be found when God is our king. That he is not a king who harshly demands but one who leads us with profound love. So this month, as we think about our country, how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go, let this song be a reminder of why this land was sought after in the first place — so that we could freely worship the God who gives us true liberty in every area of our lives. Because freedom is ultimately not found in a country but in our Savior.
Image by Rehan Syed @b3ckstage via Unsplash