Although ?America? (aka ?My Country, ?Tis of Thee?) has been a beloved anthem in the US for nearly two centuries, its origin is not American at all, and it is not unique to America as a patriotic song. Sometimes attributed to British writer/musician Henry Carey (c. 1685-1743), the tune likely dates to the 17th century or earlier and has also been attributed to the English composer John Bull, the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, and even a Swiss military melody. It was published in England in the 1744 tune book, Thesaurus Musicus, and it gained immediate and lasting popularity when, with the words ?God Save the King,? it was performed in September 1745 at London's Drury Lane and Covent Garden theaters in support of King George II. Eventually, the tune became the national anthem not only of Britain, but of several other nations, including Denmark, Prussia, and Liechtenstein. After the American colonies became independent from England, a variety of new patriotic texts were written to be sung to the tune. In 1831, Samuel F. Smith, a student at Massachusetts? Andover Theological Seminary, wrote the lyrics today known as ?My Country, ?Tis of Thee.? Smith's words and the traditional tune were one of several unofficial national anthems of the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This attractively harmonized, contemporary setting of a long-lived traditional tune will be a favorite of both performers and listeners at patriotic observances. �Copyright 2015, revised 2020 Todd Marchand / www.ConSpiritoMusic.com

An arrangement of the evergreen top hit song from 1964 ''King of the Road'', set for classical Brass Quintet.

"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a hobo who, despite being poor (a "man of means by no means"), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records.


The popular crossover record hit No. 1 on the US Country chart, No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening surveys. It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, "Trailers for sale or rent".[6] This would become the opening line of the song.

The song has been covered by many other artists, including George Jones, Dean Martin, Val Doonican, Jack Jones, James Booker, The Fabulous Echoes, Boney M., R.E.M., Johnny Paycheck, Glen Campbell, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Boxcar Willie, Randy Travis, Rangers, James Kilbane, John Stevens, the Statler Brothers, Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson, Giant Sand, Peligro, The Proclaimers, Ray Conniff Singers, The Reverend Horton Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jim White. James "The King" Brown (an Elvis impersonator) performed the song for a 2001 Audi commercial on German TV.[7] Of R.E.M.'s version, a shambolic, drunken, offhand rendering, guitarist Peter Buck would later comment, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."

"King of the Road" was performed live by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton during Miller's posthumous induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the 1995 CMA Awards ceremony.

The song is featured in Wim Wenders' 1976 film Im Lauf der Zeit (In the Course of Time; English title Kings of the Road). It is also played at the beginning of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Brokeback Mountain, Into the Wild (2007), Traveller (1997), and Swingers (1996). Miller performs it in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. The recording by The Proclaimers is included in the film The Crossing (1990). Near the end of their official music video, the pair are shown reading a newspaper whose headline is "Roger Miller, King of Plugs".

Miller's recording appears in an episode of the Super Dave TV show, where Super Dave Osborne (Bob Einstein) sings along while sitting at a piano mounted on top of his tour bus. The bus eventually goes into a low tunnel, slamming into the piano and Osborne and pushing them off the bus and onto the ground.

A send-up version by English entertainer Billy Howard was a British chart hit in 1976.

A German take by the band Wise Guys exists, the parody referring to speeding on the Autobahn.

? St. George?s Cross - The Folk Songs of England ? brings together the traditionalfolk music of ? Jolly Olde England ?. Represented are : English Country Gardens,Scarborough Fair, The Coasts of High Barbary, The Foggy Due, Sailors Hornpipe,Drunken Sailor, Greensleeves and Yankee Doodle (originally identified as English). Alternating from lively to lovely, this arrangement has something for everybody,audiences and players alike.This is playable by high schoolers on up and everybodygets something interesting to play. ( Duration 7:07 )