America's Patriotic Songs in Frames
 

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America the Beautiful

"America the Beautiful" was written in 1893 by Katharine Lee Bates. She rode in a covered wagon to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was so inspired by the beauty of the American land that she wrote the song to pass on her love for the country. The song was first published on July 4, 1895 in an American journal and went through a couple of revisions before Bates received the copyright of the song. "America the Beautiful" became so popular that it is considered America's unofficial second national anthem.

O beautiful for spacious skies, 
For amber waves of grain, 
For purple mountain majesties 
Above the fruited plain! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea! 

O beautiful for pilgrim feet 
Whose stem impassioned - stress 
A thoroughfare for freedom beat 
Across the wilderness! 
America! America! 
God mend shine every flaw, 
Confirm thy soul in self-control, 
Thy liberty in law! 

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. 
Who more than self the country loved 
And mercy more than life! 
America! America! 
May God thy gold refine 
Till all success be nobleness 
And every gain divine! 

O beautiful for patriot dream 
That sees beyond the years 
Thine alabaster cities gleam 
Undimmed by human tears! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea! 

O beautiful for halcyon skies, 
For amber waves of grain, 
For purple mountain majesties 
Above the enameled plain! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
Till souls wax fair as earth and air 
And music-hearted sea! 

O beautiful for pilgrims feet, 
Whose stem impassioned stress 
A thoroughfare for freedom beat 
Across the wilderness! 
America ! America ! 
God shed his grace on thee 
Till paths be wrought through 
wilds of thought 
By pilgrim foot and knee! 

O beautiful for glory-tale 
Of liberating strife 
When once and twice, 
for man's avail 
Men lavished precious life ! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
Till selfish gain no longer stain 
The banner of the free! 

O beautiful for patriot dream 
That sees beyond the years 
Thine alabaster cities gleam 
Undimmed by human tears! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
Till nobler men keep once again 
Thy whiter jubilee! 

This melody was first published in England circa 1780 as To Anacreon in Heaven. The melody was probably written by British composer John Stafford Smith. The words to that song were written by Ralph Tomlinson. Both were members of the Anacreontic Club of London. To Anacreon in Heaven was their theme song. The Anacreontic Club was a group of wealthy men who met to celebrate music, food and drink. 
The melody was particularly popular in America during the War of 1812 and several Americans wrote patriotic songs to it. The most famous of these was Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer. 
While aboard an English ship trying to secure the release of a friend, Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry. When the bombardment was over, the American flag was still flying. He wrote a poem The Defense of Fort McHenry, which was first printed anonymously on a broadside in 1814. On September 20 it was published in The Baltimore Patriot. Key's brother-in-law suggested he set the words to the tune To Anacreon in Heaven. When the sheet music was published in 1815, the name was changed to The Star Spangled Banner. The song was first adopted by the army and navy as the national anthem. It was officially recognized as the American National Anthem in 1931 by an act of Congress.

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The tune was originally a camp-meeting hymn "Oh brothers, will you meet us on Canaan's happy shore?" It evolved into John Brown's Body. Then in 1861 Julia Ward Howe wife of a government official, wrote a poem for Atlantic Monthly for five dollars. The magazine called it, Battle Hymn of the Republic. The music may be by William Steffe.

Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watchfires
Of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar
In the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence
By the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

Chorus

I have read a fiery gospel writ
In burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with My contemners,
So with you My grace shall deal":
Let the Hero born of woman
Crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.

Chorus

He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgement seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.

Chorus

In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on. 

Chorus

God bless America, 
Land that I love. 
Stand beside her, 
And guide her, 
Thru the night with a light from above. 
 
From the mountains, 
To the prairies, 
To the oceans white with foam. 
God bless America, 
My home, sweet, home, 

God bless America, 
My home, sweet, home. 

This land is your land, 
This land is my land, 
From California 
To the New York island, 
From the Redwood Forest, 
To the Gulf stream waters, 
This land was made for you and me. 
. 
As I was walking, 
That ribbon of highway, 
I saw above me 
That endless skyway, 
I saw below me 
That golden valley. 
This land was made for you and me. 
. 
I've roamed and rambled 
And I've followed my footsteps 
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts 
And all around me a voice was sounding 
This land was made for you and me 
. 
The sun comes shining 
As I was strolling 
The wheat fields waving 
And the dust clouds rolling 
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting 
This land was made for you and me 
. 
As I was walkin' 
I saw a sign there 
And that sign said no tress passin' 
But on the other side 
It didn't say nothin! 
Now that side was made for you and me! 
. 
In the squares of the city 
In the shadow of the steeple 
Near the relief office 
I see my people 
And some are grumblin' 
And some are wonderin' 
If this land's still made for you and me. 
. 
Nobody living can ever stop me 
As I go walking 
That freedom highway 
Nobody living can make me turn back 
This land was made for you and me 

My Country, 'Tis Of Thee,
Sweet Land Of Liberty,
Of Thee I Sing;
Land Where My Fathers Died,
Land Of The Pilgrim's Pride,
From Ev'ry Mountain Side
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!

You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of _ the land I love
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag. 

You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of The land I love 
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true 'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
 

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