"This Is My Country" is an American patriotic song composed in 1940. The lyrics are by Don Raye and the music is by Al Jacobs.[1] Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians were the first to record the song, in 1942. The song has played at the end of Walt Disney World and Disneyland fireworks shows.[1]

"This Is My Country"
Song
Written1940
GenrePatriotic song
Composer(s)Al Jacobs
Lyricist(s)Don Raye

Lyrics

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The song begins slowly, opening with this introductory verse:

What difference if I hail from North or South
Or from the East or West?
My heart is filled with love
For all of these.
I only know I swell with pride
And deep within my breast
I thrill to see Old Glory
Paint the breeze.

A second, rarely performed, verse reads,

With hand upon my heart, I thank the Lord for this, my native land, for all I love is here within her gates
My soul is rooted deeply in the soil on which I stand, for these are mine, my own United States!

It then swings into a march tempo for the chorus.

The song is made notable by the fact that it honors both Americans by birth and choice. The first chorus reads:

This is my country
Land of my birth
This is my country
Grandest on Earth

While the second chorus (sung on a repeat, as the introduction is usually not repeated) instead reads:

This is my country
Land of my choice
This is my country
Hear my proud voice.

Both versions join together at the ending:

I pledge thee my allegiance
America the bold
For this is my country
To have and to hold

References

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  1. ^ a b "This is My Country". The Library of Congress. 2002. Retrieved 2017-07-26.