Submitted by Jill Young, North Carolina
Idea posted June 13, 2003
Opening Instrumental Sequence: First Phrase: hold plate with both hands, slow circle to the left, then to the right. Second Phrase: Tricky to explain, it's a color guard move I learned to do with hats. Hold the hats with one hand on the top edge, one on the bottom (NOT SIDES). Turn your wrists and adjust your hands and make the plate flip end over end four times, until it is above your head. Then, come back down doing the same thing. You end up doing all of this twice, I think, before you start the first verse.
Hold during the first verse with both hands in front.
On Refrain: Red plates up on first heart, white on second heart, blue on "America," every hold until the word "America" is cut off. Do this during the entire refrain.
During Instrumental Before Stomps: Hold plate with both hands, straight out to the left, center, straight out to the right, center. Stomp, stomp, hold plates in front of you, pat plates over heart on words "heart beat."
At The Coda: Part one group waves their plates in a big, slow, one handed half circle out to the left and swings them around to the front as they sing "America." Part two group does the same thing to the right when they sing, "America."
On the words "The heart!" at the end, we finish with plates over hearts on the word heart.