July 4, 2009, Boston

The Fourth of July came to Boston in spectacular fashion and made for an amazingly busy day. First, there was the Freedom Trail. In total, we got fewer people than the day before, but that was partly because we had to close early for a wedding. In the middle of the morning we had another fun event: a recreation of the first public singing of the song "America" (aka, My Country 'tis of Thee) on the steps of the church. It premiered there on July 4, 1831, sung by the children of the Park Street Church Sunday school (which, by the way, was one of the first in the nation and was begun to teach poor children who couldn't afford to go to school how to read a write). I took a bit of video, but conditions on the street were less than perfect, so I didn't record all 4 verses. Yes, there are 4 verses, not just the one that everyone knows.

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!

My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills,

Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from all the trees

Sweet freedom's song;

Let mortal tongues awake;

Let all that breathe partake;

Let rocks their silence break,

The sound prolong.

Our father's God to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom's holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God our King.

Also in the course of the morning, an honor guard came to the Granary Burial Ground to salute the patriots buried within with a musket salute and by playing Taps. Since we weren't busy at the time, I stood on the church steps to watch. A man who appeared to be homeless asked what was going on, and after I explained what I thought it was, he told me I was beautiful, then asked if I was Irish, because "the Irish are very beautiful people." So random. Since he left right afterward, I decided he wasn't creepy.

Once we got the church cleaned up for the wedding, I was off to see what else the city had to offer for the holiday. I snagged some more free stuff at Government Center and then hopped on the T to head out to a birthday party for Calvin Coolidge organized by a fellow Simmons student. After that I needed a nap in order to make it to the fireworks that night.

I went to the fireworks show with Christina and Jen, and we staked out a place on the Boston side of the river. The only problem with our spot was an awkwardly placed streetlight, which we didn't notice until it was too late, having arrived when it was still light out. Jen brought along a radio, and we listened to the live broadcast of the Boston Pops concert while we waited. And as the fireworks display itself was timed to music, the radio was necessary to enjoy the show to the full extent.

The fireworks are launched from a barge on the Charles River, and they make awesome reflections on the water. I'm so glad I saw it in person, though my mother assures me it was also impressive on TV. Below is a short clip of the fireworks finale for you to enjoy.

And the best part of this weekend? It's been raining for the past month, and long-range forecasts had been dismal for this weekend as well, but the weather was perfect! I would have been sorry to miss what is probably the only Fourth of July I'll get to spend in Boston for something as silly as a thunderstorm.

-Kim