Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed–
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek–
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean–
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today–O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home–
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay–
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
O, let America be America again–
The land that never has been yet–
And yet must be–the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose–
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath–
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain–
All, all the stretch of these great green states–
And make America again!
This poem by Langston Hughes is one of my favorites. Like other readers, Hughes portrait of what America has been and the optomism of what it could be resonates to a greater degree every time I read it.
I am concerned about another reader’s comments — “American Gal”. She claims she is a poet, so I am anticipating she is versed in poetry, writing, and “reading to get the point”, yet she completely misses Langston’s message. It is unfortunate she chose to offer such a short-sighted evaluation of this poem. It makes me wonder if she even understood the feelings that are being expressed and why Hughes might feel the way he does? Time? Place? Personal background?
This poem is timeless. Langston Hughes has given us a sketch of his history which is as true today as it was when originally written.
This is my most favorite poem in the hole world!!
I love everything Langston Hughes has writen and he is my insporation for everything I write.!!!!!!!!!!!
It gets better each time I read it. As for American Gal and All American Boy, your Love It or Leave It attitudes suck big time. How about Change It or Lose It? Hate is not an American value….maybe it is now that I think about it.
I am courently writn a paper on this poem and I trully think this poem transends time. I belive this poem is a plea for a chance of humman enbettrment through the voice of the weak and downtordden. This poems cries many of the frustration we all swa with after math of Katrina. This poem is nore than just an issue over black and whites.
This poem was good but long. I think that if you would have summed it up a little better more people would read it. Like I said it was a good poem but really long. I know that I had a hard time keeping reading it only becuase of the length. You made your point and thats the great part I mean the only kind of good peom is the one witha point. You have made a good statment and it touched me. Me myself likes to write poetry and enjoyes reading it. But I am the kind of person that likes to write about death and teen troubles being a teen myself. I have been through a lot in life eventhough i am only 17 but I can tell you some horrifying things which is why your poems touched me. Its a good poem keep on writting likw this and it will take you to greater places.
dear american gal,
you comments were very difficult to read. asan american i find it desperatelyimportant to understand the past failures of our nation, and look at them honestly. of course hughes poem is driven by a sense of malice in that he is malicious against blatant injustice, which prevailed in the black disinfranchised communities of the urban north namely his beloved new york. his cry is not a cry of damnation as you seemed so set to label it, but obiously in the title alone much less the body of work a cry for reform, for positive revolution within a society. (the most fundamental conviction of our young nation) your stance of love it or leave it is desperately lacking in its value. in practice such a principle applied exaustively as you seem to be applying it here would demand abandonment of all things that are flawed including the people we love, the jobs we hold, and the country we share. our nation is remarkable and unique in many respects, yet we have a particularly dark past for such a short life. if there is any hope of a future for the people of america it begins where langston hughes began here, at looking honestly at the problems, the crimes, the atrocities we as a nation are guilty of internally and abroad and seeking to right these overt and scaring wrongs. i hope you will reconsider your very impatient insecure and defensive comments on this very important piece of art and american history.
sincerely and humbly,
bobby
post script- the poem is most powerful when it asks “who has drawn a veil across the stars”
This is borderline trash. Good Poem? Hardly. While the poem is rich in passion is grossly misrepresents America and as a poet myself I find this sort of ‘anger driven’ wordage pure fluff. So Langston Hughes doesn’t like America…he can leave. It’s not positive, it reeks of malice and the amount of support shown on this site proves that ignorance does abound. Slap a poem title on something Hughes wrote and you suddenly see the rise in ass kissing…
this poem is so deep i actually read it five times. i mean this poem is just like america is today. it’s a crazy world right now and this coming from a sixteen year old. i really love this poem. i mean this poem is so deep that words can’t even describe how it makes me feel inside and out.
this poem is absolutely touching and so deep. when i read this poem over the summer i fell in love with it instantely. its just beautiful and Langston Hughes did an emaculate job on letting everybody know that life wasnt easy for blacks and im proud of my heritage even more.
This is the most riveting poem my eyes have ever read. The eloquence and emotion between each word gives me chills, in particular because of my African-American background. This is a man who took history and understood it in a way that many refuse to even brainstorm about. One must admire a being that has the mental capacity to evaluate all effects on racial life, not just his own.
This poem really touched me….me.. a 12 year old girl. the world really is full of Sh*t and the greedy people who steal & snatch. we can never heal the scars of hate. yet we can work to make them heal & fade lighter.
i read about this poem in the washington post, in an article regarding the peace movement that has been gaining momentum in d.c. recently.
specifically the lines “let america be america again, let it be the dream it used to be”
i like this poem, a lot.
it just…speaks, i guess.
america will never be america again. america is the land of the natives from whom everything was brutally snatched, and they can never come back nor live the way they did. the modern america is full of materialists and sh!t.
if the read this poem more they would not understand 4 the land of the free is but yet not free at all so to whom that rote this poem i say preach it brother
wow this peom is so deep… \
when i read this i swear a tear fell…. i didnt come to this site to be inlighten or touched. i checked it out to get 6 peoms for my classs on power….wow…. this is so beautiful…. this is a great peom and i am not just saying that because eveyone else is….i am say this genuinely…. I hope i am alive to see this day….. cause i am tried of being judge by my apparence and not my character and my decisions and my brains “inside” lol thanx for this poem” it tellsme i am not alone in this dream……~natalie~ “
Wow !
How deep it is. It shows that no matter who you are you are still in chains….We havent learned our lessons only avoided them. We yearn for our freedom but rarely realize it. We take it for granted only to see that all along our oignorance has only put us iin chains. WOW!
to all american boy (comment 24)
if you ever get the chance to read my comment, i hope your thoughts have changed. to call Langston Hughes a communist for his beliefs and poems. is not only a coward type of thing to say but it is just plain ol’ ignorant. people like you who can take a possitve and inspirational poem into something negative is the reason why he wrote that. he believed that peoples thoughts would change in America instead your narrowminded thoughts is what is keeping racism and prejudice alive.
This poem is the greatest. I would like to know what era this poem came from.
This poem addresses the widespread issue of racism that is prevalent in America. L H expresses that to him America has never been free. Throughout this poem I can feel the tone which is anger. He strongly holds the sign that he disgards America being the land of the free.
Wisdom outlives generations. Isn’t it amazing that Langston Hughe’s perceptions and insights into the state of our country are as valid today, for peoples of all origins, as they were the day he wrote this poem ? He may have been a great Black Poet, he may have been a great American Poet, but I consider him one of the Greatest Universal Poets of all time.