Frank Sinatra - The House I Live In (That’s America To Me).mp3
One of my first memories of going to the movies as a little boy was my sister taking me to the local theater at the end of World War II for Saturday afternoon cartoons and this short played of a bunch of kids of all different races fighting in an alley in New York City and Frank Sinatra came in, broke up the brawl and started singing this song.
It stuck with me in a way that still is at the heart of my political consciousness, proving how simple and unsophisticated I am.
I’ve put it up because I love it still (though the Paul Robeson version might be even better) and in hopes others will comment on what America means to them.
My belief is we can’t get anywhere together unless we can talk about our basic principles and define what we mean by our words so we can begin to understand each other. Then, maybe just maybe, we’ll we agree on more things than we disagree on.
So listen to Sinatra and speak your mind.
I think the idea of democracy and america is an old fashioned one because I don’t feel it has meaning anymore because politicians lie and hide facts and nobody votes or cares or even has any intelligence about the world. But no matter – if everybody else in the world hates us – I still have a sense of pride in our personal freedoms and I do love that song.
Thanks. Now I can’t get the damn song out of my head!
What an excellent song. Thanks for that, Ron.
Thanks for putting this on line.
I too first saw this film in the theater when it first came out. It made a big impression on me and I have loved this song ever since.
Well, Sinatra isn’t America to me, but he is for lots of people and that’s something I need to accept. We can’t get too wrapped up our own experiences. Like to me, comic books and fishing are the most American things around. Yet most of my friends have had experience with either.