Land of sunrises,

Land of sunsets,

Land of sea breezes,

Land of hurricane winds,

Land of April showers,

Land of torrential rains,

Land of blooming fields,

Land of autumn colors,

Land of friendly manners,

Land of weathered faces,

Land of burning heat,

Land of freezing cold ------

Ah,

Land taken from Heaven,

Land of my home.

Thy door have always opened wide,

From Verrazano to the present.

Thy soil is God's soil -----

His dexterous hands made it so.

Angels sing in the woods,

on creek banks,

in the marshes,

o'er all the land ------

Their song lingers into the night,

Warming souls left so cold in the graves.

Magnificent choirs join voices of God on summer nights.

Songs of praise, honor, and glory float into eternity.

Thy inhabitants are close to thee, O land!

Thy simple life is their simple life;

Thy simple tastes are their simple tastes;

Thy bountiful beauty is their bountiful beauty.

Love flows from your pine heart

Down the creeks

And out into the great waters.

Years ago, bronze Indians stalked and glided o'er thy paths,

Now automation spoils thy virgin beauty.

Thy face is soft and gently,

Yet thy body is braced by a backbone

Of watermen and farmers.

Grave tears have stained thy face

As thy sons have marched to war

Never to return.

Bells chime on the Sabbath

And thou goes to His house

For thou are His child.

He made Heaven on earth,

And He chose this land.

Land of sunrises,

Land of sunsets,

Land of sea breezes,

Land of hurricane winds,

Land of April showers,

Land of torrential rains,

Land of blooming fields,

Land of autumn colors,

Land of friendly manners,

Land of weathered faces,

Land of burning heat,

Land of freezing cold ------

Ah,

Land taken from Heaven,

Land of my home.

By Edwina Ann Miles Covington

1963