The House I Live In - Dianne Reeves

What is America to me

A name, a map, or a flag I see

A certain word, democracy

What is America to me The house I live in A plot of earth, the street

The grocer and the butcher

Or the people that I meet

The children in the playground

The faces that I see

All races and religions

That’s America to me The place I work in The worker by my side

The little town the city

Where my people lived and died

The howdy and the handshake

The air a feeling free

And the right to speak your mind out

That’s America to me The things I see about me The big things and the small

That little corner newsstand

Or the house a mile tall

The wedding and the churchyard

The laughter and the tears

The dream that’s been a growing

For more than two hundred years

The town I live in The street, the house, the room

The pavement of the city

Or a garden all in bloom

The church the school the clubhouse

The millions lights I see

Especially the people

That’s America to me