have you ever spent the late afternoon watching the purple shadows deepen in arizona desert or seen a herd of elk plough their way through waist deep snow on a cold colorado dome did you ever see the sun go down in hawaii or seen the stormy waves break over the rock bound coast of maine or have you ever see an eagle fly up out of the mists of alaska or a big october moon hanging full over the still dakato badlands have you ever tasted the gumbo in new orleans bar b que in carolina or the chicken wings in buffalo have you ever had brunswick stew in maken or cornbread in burmingham or briskets slow cook over hill country mesquite wood did you ever drink the water from a gurgling branch in utah or stand on the mountain above el paso del norte and see the lights twinkling clear over in mexico did you ever jingle horses in the pre dawn stillness of a perfect texas day and watch their shodded hooves kicking up sparks on the volcanic rock or attended a truck line on a foggy carolina morning or heard the distant love song of a lovesick whipperwill on a pristine tenneesee late night have you seen the faces on mount rushmore or stood at the vietnam monument have you ever crossed the mighty mississippi or been to the daddy of them all in cheyenne wyoming or seen the mighty volve run out on the football field on a chilly autumn afternoon did you ever see the chicago skyline from lake shore drive at night or the new england follage in the fall or the summer beauty of the shanandoah valley or indiana covered with new snow did you ever seen a herd of wild horses running free across the empty spaces in nevada or caught a walleyed pike out of a cold wisconsin stream or marveled at the tall ship docked in the harbor at baltimore did you ever see the early morning dew sparkling on the blue grass or the wind stir the wheat fields on a hot kansas afternoon or driven the lonely stretches of old route 66 have you ever heard the church bells peal their call to worship on an early sunday in some small town in the deep south or pass through the redwood forest just as the sun was going down have you ever been to boise or batchlee or boford or billings have you ever passed through sanford or suffacer san angelo have you ever seen the falls at nigara the ice palace in saint paul or the gateway to the west this then is america the land god blesses with everything and no effel tower no taj mahal no alps no andes no native hut nor royal palace can rival her awesome beauty her diverse poplulation her monolithic majesty america the free america the mighty america the beautiful i pledge alligence to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all 