text:  Ballad for Americans, composed by John Latouche and Earl Robinson. It was originally titled The Ballad for Uncle Sam for a theater project called Sing for Your Supper. The piece then was presented on the radio show The Pursuit of Happiness on November 5, 1939, sung by Paul Robeson. He made a commercial recording the following May, and then on July 6, Ben Crosby recorded it for Decca, accompanied by the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers.