My Country 'Tis of Thee

For works with similar titles, see America.

Versions of
My Country 'Tis of Thee
by Samuel Francis Smith

"America" or "My Country 'Tis of Thee" is an American patriotic song. Smith wrote the lyrics to an existing tune in 1831, and it was first published in 1832. It was often used as a de-facto national anthem of the United States until the official adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1931.

The tune is the same as that of "God Save the Queen" and is often attributed to Henry Carey. This tune was first published in its present form in Thesaurus Musicus, 1744, without attribution. However, earlier similar tunes exist; the earliest known is a 1619 keyboard piece by John Bull. Smith wrote this hymn to fit the melody after hearing it used in Muzio Clementi's 1824 Great National Symphony.

Versions of My Country 'Tis of Thee include:

"My Country 'Tis of Thee" in The Riverside song book, 1893
"America" in School Song Knapsack, 1899
"America" in Poems That Every Child Should Know (1904).
"Anglo-American Anthem", combined with "God Save the King", in The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book (1916).
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee" in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

This work was published before January 1, 1924, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

My Country 'Tis of Thee

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