“This song is so, so timely of what is happening in America. I wrote this song in that was sung by 350 young people known as the Continental Singers, directed by Cam Flora at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium on July 4, 1976 — America’s 200th Birthday. I hope you like it.”
I don’t want to say goodbye to America
Please don’t let it fade away
We have come a long ways through wars blood and tears
We must stand together thru another hundred years.
I don’t want to say goodbye to America
We must show the world we’re one
From your highest mountains to your deep blue sea,
From fair Hawaii to the Statue of Liberty
I don’t want to say goodbye to America in these ever-changing times
We must walk together with people of all creeds
We must share each others’ hardships and needs
I don’t want to say goodbye to America,
Remember those who gave their lives.
Together we must walk hand in hand
Then I won’t have to say goodbye to America
America, my home.
•••
Larry Rivera has been a musician on Kaua‘i for more than six decades, and shares the stories behind his songs in “Lyrics of Aloha,” appearing once a month in the Sunday edition of The Garden Island. Win prizes and earn an entry in the Vacations Hawai‘i Vegas vacation for two drawing by listening to KONG radio the following Monday and Tuesday between 6 and 8 a.m. and taking part in a contest based on the column.
Source: The Garden Island
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