The version below was transcribed from a recording by Earl Robinson from Songs for Political Action (Bear Family Records).
[Some of these verses were used by Robeson in some recordings]
-Joe Offer-

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The House I Live In
(Lewis Allan and Earl Robinson)

What is America to me? A name, a map, the flag I see,
a certain word, "Democracy"! What is America to me?

The house I live in, a plot of earth, a street,
The grocer and the butcher and the people that I meet
The children in the playground, the faces that I see;
All races, all religions, that's America to me.

The place I work in, the worker at my side
The little town or city where my people lived and died,
The "howdy" and the handshake, the air of feeling free,
The right to speak my mind out, that's America to me.

The things I see about me, the big things and the small,
The little corner newsstand and the house a mile tall;
The wedding and the churchyard, the laughter and the tears,
The dream that's been a growin', for a hundred-fifty years.

The town I live in, the street, the house, the room,
The pavement of the city, or a garden all in bloom,
The church, the school, the club house, the million lights I see,
But especially the people, that's America to me.

The house I live in, my neighbors, white and black,
The people who just came here, or from generations back,
The Town Hall and the soap box, the torch of Liberty,
A home for all God's children, that's America to me.

The words of Old Abe Lincoln, of Jefferson and Paine,
Of Washington and Jackson, and the tasks that still remain,
The little bridge at Concord, where Freedom's fight began,
Our Gettysburg and Midway, and the story of Bataan.

The house I live in, the goodness everywhere,
A land of wealth and beauty with enough for all to share,
A house that we call Freedom, the home of Liberty,
And it belongs to fighting people, that's America to me.

Publishers/Administrators: MUSIC SALES CORP(ASCAP)

This song has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Mahalia Jackson, Neil Diamond, and many others.

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From the album notes:

In late 1942 Robinson wrote a melody to Lewis Allan's "The House That I Live In" (sic). He sang it frequently for nearly two years, but the song failed to find an audience. In May 1944, NBC staged a radio play around "The House I Live In." Its national exposure led to a hit recording by Frank Sinatra. Countless cover versions followed.