The People Lyrics

What makes the word "America" ring
With a sound that brightens the air?
It's people, her people,
Who have done their "own thing"
With blood, sweat and tears, and a prayer.

Louis Armstrong on a golden trumpet,
And Marian Anderson singing "The Lord's Prayer";
The savage power of Jack Dempsey,
And the quiet pride of Jesse Owens;
Merle Haggard singing "Okie from Muskogee,"
And Chet Atkins pickin' a guitar;
Bing Crosby at Christmastime,
And Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic alone;

A sharecroppers's son, an immigrant boy,
A hobo who rode all the rails,
The magic guitar of an ol' country boy,
A lone eagle who pioneered trails;

Sandy Koufax staring down at a batter,
While Willie Mays chants his "Say hey!"
Maria Tallchief gliding in Swan Lake,
While Fred Astaire dances on gossamer wings;
Billy Graham bringing God to millions,
And Jonas Salk bringing hope to the world;
Mahalia Jackson closing her eyes in devotion,
And Johnny Cash singing at the White House!

What makes the word "America" ring
With a sound that brightens the air?
It's people, her people,
Who have done their "own thing"
With blood, sweat and tears, and a prayer.

Willie Shoemaker booting Swaps home, While Eddie Arcaro wins the Triple Crown on Citation;
Arnie Palmer winning the Open,
While Eddy Arnold is winning hearts;
Tom Harmon threading the field for Michigan,
While Bob Morrison plays his heart out for Troy;
Kate Smith singing "God Bless America."
And Irving Berlin, who wrote it!

Then there are those, unheralded, whose dedication to
our country is strong and true: The builders of
America--those who make her factories hum, the loggers
of her great forests, the men who labor deep in her
mines and the man who works with his hands.

The farmer who toils from dawn to dusk, and those who
carry her bountiful yield to all the state of our
Union. The railroaders, our merchant sailors, the
airline pilots, and those modern knights of the
road...the truck drivers.

These, and others like them, have earned their rights
to walk proudly...with the knowledge that their goals
were acheived through honest toil and in the spirit of
harmony found in The People...working together...in
this great land.

What makes the word "America" ring
With a sound that brightens the air?
It's people, her people,
Who have done their "own thing"
With blood, sweat and tears, and a prayer.

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