For long years the members of the Hamm family in Rowan County, Kentucky,
both old and young, have gathered on a Sunday in the month of August for
their mountain Eisteddfod. Upon this occasion there is friendly rivalry
as to whose ballad or poem is best, who speaks his composition best. And
the prize, you may be sure, is not silver but a book of poems. This
composition of Nannie Hamm Carter was read at their mountain Eisteddfod
in August, 1940.
It's great to be an American,
And live on peaceful shores,
Where we hear not the sound of marching feet,
And the war-clouds come no more.
Where the Statue of Liberty ever stands,
A beacon of hope for all,
Heralding forth to every land
That by it we stand or fall.
It's great to be an American,
For wherever we may go,
It is an emblem of truth and right,
A challenge to every foe.
It's great to be free and unfettered,
And know not wars or strife,
Where man to man united,
Can live a carefree life,
While men are falling hour by hour
Upon some foreign shore
Amidst the roar of battle there,
Ne'er to return no more.
They're offered as a sacrifice,
Upon the altar there,
With no one there to sympathize,
Or shed for them a tear.
Where men are marching 'mid the strife,
Where there, day after day,
There's danger and there's loss of life
Where conquerors hold sway.
They bow to rulers' stern commands,
They face the deadly foe,
While far away in other lands,
There's sorrow, pain and woe.
But not so in America,
The birthplace of the free.
For 'midst the conflict Over There,
With loss of life and liberty,
It's a privilege to know,
That in a world, so fraught with pain,
We feel secure from every foe
Where naught but fellowship remains.
For in our free country,
We hear not the battlecry,
We hear not the bugle's solemn call,
When men go forth to die.
For over all this land of ours
The Stars and Stripes still wave,
Waving forth in triumph
O'er this homeland of the brave.
Hats off! to our own America,
With pride we now can say,
We bow not down to rulers,
For justice still holds sway.
God keep us free from scenes like those
That are in other lands,
Where the shell-shocked and the wounded
Are there on every hand.
So, it's great to be an American,
We'll stand by our flag always,
For right shall not perish from the earth
As long as truth holds sway;
As long as her sons are united
In a cause that's just and true,
The bells of freedom still will ring,
Ring out for me and you.
--Nannie Hamm Carter