who wrote the words to my country tis of thee
Samuel Francis Smith
title: My Country, 'Tis of Thee text: My Country, 'Tis of Thee "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song, whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the Queen", arranged by Thomas Arne. The song served as one of the "de facto" national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columbia") before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official U.S. national anthem in 1931. Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in title: My Country, 'Tis of Thee text: 1831, while he was a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. His friend Lowell Mason had asked him to translate the lyrics in some German school songbooks or to write new lyrics. A melody in Muzio Clementi's Symphony No. 3 (also called 'The Great National' and contains the melody of 'God Save the Queen' as a tribute to Clementi's adopted country) caught his attention. Rather than translating the lyrics from German, Smith wrote his own American patriotic hymn to the melody, completing the lyrics in thirty minutes. Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written and the title: Samuel Francis Smith text: Samuel Francis Smith Samuel Francis Smith (October 21, 1808 – November 16, 1895) was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", which he entitled "America". Smith was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 21, 1808. Smith gave Lowell Mason the lyrics he had written and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. The song, titled "America", was first published by Lowell Mason in "The Choir" in 1832. Smith later title: My Country, 'Tis of Thee text: song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. First publication of "America" was in 1832. "Additional verse to celebrate Washington's Centennial:" "Additional verses by Henry van Dyke": "Additional Abolitionist verses by A. G. Duncan, 1843": Other anthems set to the same music: And variations: My Country, 'Tis of Thee "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song, whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United title: Variations on "America" text: Variations on "America" Variations on "America", is a composition for organ by the American composer Charles Ives. Composed in 1891 when Ives was seventeen, it is an arrangement of a traditional tune, known as "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (words by Samuel Francis Smith), and was at the time the de facto anthem of the United States. The tune is also widely recognised in Thomas Arne's orchestration as the British National Anthem, "God Save the Queen", and in the former anthems of Russia ("The Prayer of Russians", from 1816 to 1833), Switzerland ("Rufst du, mein Vaterland", until 1961), and Germany