America the Beautiful

"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song which rivals "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States, in popularity. It is often found in Christian hymnals in a wide variety of churches in the United States, and may be sung as part of a Christian service of worship to God.

History

The words are by Katharine Lee Bates, an English teacher at Wellesley College. She had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1893 to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College, and several of the sights on her trip found their way into her poem:

Related Topics:
Katharine Lee Bates - Wellesley College - Colorado Springs - Colorado - 1893 - Colorado College

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• The World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, the "White City" with its promise of the future contained within its alabaster buildings.
• The wheat fields of Kansas, through which her train was riding on July 4.
• The majestic view of the Great Plains from atop Pike's Peak.

On that mountain, the words of the poem started to come to her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room at the original Antlers Hotel. The poem was initially published two years later in The Congregationalist, to commemorate the Fourth of July. It quickly caught the public's fancy. Amended versions were published in 1904 and 1913.

Related Topics:
The Congregationalist - Fourth of July

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Several existing pieces of music were adapted to the poem. The hymn Materna, composed in 1882 by Samuel A. Ward, was generally considered the best music as early as 1910 and is still the popular tune today. Ward had been similarly inspired. The tune came to him while he was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City after a leisurely summer day, and he immediately wrote it down. Ward died in 1903, not knowing the national stature his music would attain. Miss Bates was more fortunate, as the song's popularity was well-established by her death in 1929.

Related Topics:
Hymn - 1882 - Samuel A. Ward - Coney Island - New York City

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At various times in the nearly 100 years that have elapsed since the song as we know it was born, particularly during the John F. Kennedy administration, there have been efforts to give "America the Beautiful" legal status either as a national hymn, or as a national anthem equal to, or in place of, "The Star-Spangled Banner", but so far this has not succeeded. Proponents prefer "America the Beautiful" for various reasons, saying it is easier to sing, more melodic, and more adaptable to new orchestrations while still remaining as easily recognizable as "The Star-Spangled Banner." Some prefer "America the Beautiful" over "The Star-Spangled Banner" due to the latter's war-oriented imagery. (Others prefer "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the same reason.) While that national dichotomy has stymied any effort at changing the tradition of the national anthem, "America the Beautiful" continues to be held in high esteem by a large number of Americans.

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Popularity of the song soared following the September 11, 2001 attacks; at some sporting events it was sung in addition to the traditional singing of the national anthem.

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Ray Charles is credited with the song's most well known rendition in current times. His recording is very commonly played at major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl. His unique take on it places the third verse first, after which he sings the usual first verse. In the third verse (see below), the author scolds the materialistic and self-serving robber barons of her day, and urges America to live up to its noble ideals and to honor, with both word and deed, the memory of those who died for their country...a message that resonates just as strongly today.

Related Topics:
Ray Charles - Super Bowl - Materialistic - Robber baron

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An amusing oddity of the song is that its meter (technically "common meter double" or 8-6-8-6-8-6-8-6) is identical to that of Auld Lang Syne. The two songs can be sung perfectly with lyrics interchanged.

Related Topics:
Common meter double - Auld Lang Syne

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