John Wayne Follow

Chorus:
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
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”
Chet Atkins pickin’ the guitar
Bing Crosby at Christmastime and
Charles Lindburgh crossing the Atlantic alone

A sharecropper’s son, an immigrant boy
A hobo who rode on the rails
The magic guitar of an old 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
Jonah Salk bringing hope to the world
Mahalia Jackson closing her eyes in devotion and
Johnny Cash singin’ at the White House

(Chorus)

Willie Shoemaker bootin’ Swaps home
While Eddie Arcaro wins the Triple Crown on Citation
Arnie Palmer winning the Open
While Eddie 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 our 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
Those who carry her bountiful yield to all the states of our Union
The railroaders, the merchant sailors,
The airline pilots, and those modern knights of the road, the truck drivers
These and others like them have earned their right to walk proudly
By the knowledge that their goals were achieved
Through honest toil and in a spirit of harmony
Found in The People working together in this great land

(Chorus)