Sing along (with lyrics)
Top 18 patriotic songs with lyrics
These songs turn up at school assemblies, ball games, parades and holidays. Most are public domain and the first verse is printed. Copyrighted ones are linked.
Chosen from school assembly songbooks and US Library of Congress pages; public domain status checked on Wikipedia, Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key (words), 1814 · Ages 5-14
The US national anthem, which almost no one sings past verse one.
Watch for: Wide vocal range makes it hard for children. The third verse, rarely sung, has lines about slaves.
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Words
O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)
Samuel Francis Smith, 1831 · Ages 4-12
Set to the tune of 'God Save the King'; for decades this was the unofficial anthem.
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Words
My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountainside Let freedom ring!
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates, 1895; tune by Samuel Ward · Ages 5-14
A poem written on a Colorado mountaintop; many say it is easier to sing than the anthem.
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Words
O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Julia Ward Howe, 1861 · Ages 7-14
A Civil War marching hymn with a very loud chorus.
Watch for: Religious and tied to the Civil War.
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Words
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on. Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
Yankee Doodle
Traditional · Ages 3-10
A tune from the Revolutionary War; Connecticut's state song.
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Words
Yankee Doodle went to town A-riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni. Yankee Doodle, keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy, Mind the music and the step, And with the girls be handy.
You're a Grand Old Flag
George M. Cohan, 1906 · Ages 3-10
A march-time song about the flag; popular for Flag Day.
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Words
You're a grand old flag, You're a high-flying flag And forever in peace may you wave. You're the emblem of The land I love, The home of the free and the brave. Ev'ry heart beats true 'Neath the red, white and blue, Where there's never a boast or brag. But should auld acquaintance be forgot, Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
Lift Every Voice and Sing
James Weldon Johnson (words), J. Rosamond Johnson (music), 1900 · Ages 7-14
Often called the Black national anthem; first sung by schoolchildren in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Words
Lift ev'ry voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Patrick Gilmore, 1863 · Ages 6-12
A Civil War song of homecoming; the tune became a base for many other songs.
Watch for: About war and soldiers returning.
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Words
When Johnny comes marching home again, Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll give him a hearty welcome then, Hurrah! Hurrah! The men will cheer and the boys will shout, The ladies they will all turn out, And we'll all feel gay When Johnny comes marching home.
The Marines' Hymn
Traditional, 1880s · Ages 7-14
The oldest official US military song.
Watch for: Public-domain status of the words is not settled, so they are linked, not printed.
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The Stars and Stripes Forever
John Philip Sousa, 1896 · Ages 5-14
The official US national march; instrumental, and a staple of band concerts.
Watch for: Instrumental. Sousa's optional words exist but are rarely sung.
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God Bless America
Irving Berlin, 1918 and 1938 · Ages 4-14
Sung at the seventh-inning stretch after 9/11. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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This Land Is Your Land
Woody Guthrie, 1940 · Ages 5-14
The folk song about the whole country. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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Anchors Aweigh
Charles Zimmermann (music), 1906 · Ages 7-14
US Navy song; sung at games for Navy.
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The Army Goes Rolling Along
Edmund Gruber, 1908 · Ages 7-14
US Army song, also known as 'The Caissons Go Rolling Along'.
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Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean
David T. Shaw, 1843 · Ages 7-14
An older patriotic song and a mainstay of 19th-century band concerts.
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O Canada
Calixa Lavallee (music), Robert Stanley Weir (English words, 1908) · Ages 5-14
Canada's national anthem; the official English wording was changed in 2018.
Watch for: The wording in use today is the 2018 change; check the Government of Canada page for the exact text.
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Hail, Columbia
Joseph Hopkinson (words), 1798 · Ages 8-14
An early American patriotic song, once a contender for national anthem.
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Over There
George M. Cohan, 1917 · Ages 8-14
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