tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21660941.post8115953838960496252..comments2024-02-17T18:51:24.318+00:00Comments on Havering On: The House I Live In vs A World We're Stuck WithRichard Havershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15309594787689405779noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21660941.post-75823366671963750122007-08-22T22:45:00.000+01:002007-08-22T22:45:00.000+01:00Richard, I believe this song is available on the C...Richard, I believe this song is available on the Columbia Years box set. It is a good song. While the song may seem kind of trite by today's PC standards, it was revolutionary at the time. This was when segregation and anti-Semitism and ethnic prejudice were still very common in the United States. <BR/><BR/>I have always admired Sinatra a great deal for taking the time to do this spot, and this song. For most of his life, he was a spokesman for the little guy or the oppressed. I could never quite understand why he turned from those ideals after the JFK era, at least politically. <BR/><BR/>His mom was quite the rabble-rouser and I think instilled in him a sense of justice and an empathy for the working man--of course, when he started out, Sinatra was a working-class guy, too, and he never really lost that hard-driving, perfectionistic work ethic.r morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12147514874434254047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21660941.post-76616150314197774182007-08-22T17:31:00.000+01:002007-08-22T17:31:00.000+01:00It's a great line. Allen was more a poet than a so...It's a great line. Allen was more a poet than a songwriter.<BR/><BR/>What is america to me<BR/>A name, a map, or a flag I see<BR/>A certain word, democracy<BR/>What is america to me<BR/><BR/>The house I live in<BR/>A plot of earth, a street<BR/>The grocer and the butcher<BR/>Or the people that I meet<BR/><BR/>The children in the playground<BR/>The faces that I see<BR/>All races and religions<BR/>Thats america to me<BR/><BR/>The place I work in<BR/>The worker by my side<BR/>The little town the city<BR/>Where my people lived and died<BR/><BR/>The howdy and the handshake<BR/>The air a feeling free<BR/>And the right to speak your mind out<BR/>Thats america to me<BR/><BR/>The things I see about me<BR/>The big things and the small<BR/>That little corner newsstand<BR/>Or the house a mile tall<BR/><BR/>The wedding and the churchyard<BR/>The laughter and the tears<BR/>And the dream thats been a growing<BR/>For more than two hundred years<BR/><BR/>The town I live in<BR/>The street, the house, the room<BR/>The pavement of the city<BR/>Or the garden all in bloom<BR/><BR/>The church the school the clubhouse<BR/>The millions lights I see<BR/>But especially the people<BR/>- yes especially the people<BR/>Thats america to meRichard Havershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309594787689405779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21660941.post-85574909644538540672007-08-22T17:28:00.000+01:002007-08-22T17:28:00.000+01:00I do know the song and it is beautiful. I especia...I do know the song and it is beautiful. I especially like the line "the right to spek your mind out". But I knew nothing of its history. Thank you.Welshcakes Limoncellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17209759237794290941noreply@blogger.com