America the Beautiful
GodTube Staff
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 heroes proved
in liberating strife,
who more than self their 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 mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control,
thy liberty in law.
United Methodist Hymnal, 1989
Who Wrote America the Beautiful?
"America the Beautiful" is a popular hymn that was written by poet and educator Katharine Lee Bates. During the summer of 1893, Bates traveled from Massachusetts to Colorado Springs, where she taught a summer course at Colorado College. While visiting Pikes Peak, she was inspired by the breathtaking view of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and surrounding landscape. Later that summer, she wrote a poem that captured both the beauty of America and her hopes for the nation's future.
The poem was first published on July 4, 1895, in The Congregationalist under the title "America." Bates later revised the poem several times, publishing a final version in 1913.
The music commonly associated with the song was composed by Samuel A. Ward, a church organist and choir director from New Jersey. Ward originally wrote the melody, known as "Materna," in 1882 for a different hymn. His tune was eventually paired with Bates' poem, creating the version of "America the Beautiful" that Americans know today. Interestingly, Bates and Ward never met.
Over time, "America the Beautiful" became one of the nation's most beloved patriotic songs. It has often been proposed as an alternative national anthem because of its focus on America's natural beauty, ideals, and dependence on God's grace.
America the Beautiful Bible Verses and Biblical Themes
Although "America the Beautiful" does not directly quote Scripture, many of its themes closely reflect biblical teachings.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. Psalm 33:12
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:7
More Popular Patriotic Hymns
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