I’ve written a set of alternate lyrics to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” that the people of this country need to be hearing and singing. I’m copyrighting them with the Creative Commons BY-ND license, which means that anyone is free to distribute them and perform them, even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit me as the author and don’t modify them.
Here they are. (You can download a PDF score here.)
1.
Our country born in harm,
In plunder by the strong,
Yet strength my stake
On weary travelers lost,
The homeless, tempest tossed,
That oceans of misfortune cross
A home to make.
2.
Keep, ancient lands, your few,
Your pride in lineage true
Of warring tribes.
Give us your tired, your poor,
Your masses yearning for
The light we shine from out the door
We open wide.
3.
Not like the realms of old
That greatness bought with gold
Or war’s dear toll,
But a new liberty,
Born of equality:
A thousand tongues in harmony
To sing the whole.
4.
So may we ever be,
In our diversity,
True freedom’s shore:
A land of pilgrims still,
A light upon a hill,
The hope of ages to fulfill
Forever more.
Here it is paired with a public domain setting I found online, but performers can feel free to find or create their own arrangements.