My Country, 'Tis of Thee

.
My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the
pilgrims' pride, From ev'ry mountain side Let freedom ring!
.
My native country, thee, Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love; I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and
templed hill. My heart with rapture thrills Like that above.
.
Let music swell the breeze And ring from all the tress
Sweet freedom's song; Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that
breathe partake; Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong.
.
Our fathers' God, to thee, Author of liberty,
To thee we sing; Long may our land be bright With freedom's
holy light. Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King!
.
Please, people ~ if you're here reading this, take a moment and sing this one out loud. We don't hear this standard as often as we used to. Have any of you noticed that? I sang it through twice [yes. I do believe the dog rolled her eyes and covered her ears!] it was good to 'taste' the words in my mouth. It was good to give them breath and life and to hear them in my ears. Good to touch these, words of love, with my finger tips upon the keyboard and with my eyes, bringing them to the forefront of my mind, once again. I was transported to elementary grade school days when I stood along with my classmates and first learned the tune, and to unnumbered car rides with my parents and my mother doing her best to lead us in sing alongs. This was diabolicly good of her, as I don't remember anyone of us saying, "I don't want to!" and it seems to me that we were all in tune, whenever we sang together. Aint it funny, though, how the last couple of verses don't always make it as clear and loud as the first one or two? [mumble, hum-hum-hum, mumble-mumble~ giggle!] Today, flowing from me, in feeling, deep within this song, it's those last 2 verses, that moved my heart and soul. I am grateful, I am thoughtful, I am enjoying my freedom this weekend. Hope you are enjoying yours. Amen.