America, the Beautiful

This well known hymn was written by Katharine Lee Bates as a poem in 1893 and first published in 1895, it was combined with music composed by church organist Samuel A. Ward in 1910. Bates wrote the poem after a journey to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado, saying the views there inspired her.

Bates wrote the words as a poem orginally entitled "Pikes Peak". It was first published in the Fourth of July 1895 edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist. It was at that time that the poem was first entitled "America".

Ward had initially composed the song's melody in 1882 to accompany lyrics to "Materna", basis of the hymn, "O Mother dear, Jerusalem", though the hymn was not first published until 1892. The combination of Ward's melody and Bates's poem was first entitled "America the Beautiful" in 1910. The song is one of the most popular of the many U.S. patriotic songs.

The song was a contender for the U.S. national anthem, along with “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and “The Star Spangle Banner”. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law that made the “Star Spangled Banner” our national anthem, and that upset many Americans. The effort to change our national anthem has continued on and off since then, with supporters of “America the Beautiful” contending that it more accurately reflects the principles of our country.

You can download the simple version of this hymn here. Enjoy!

Below is the original poem by Bates.

Original poem (1893)

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 pilgrim feet
Whose stern, 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 or 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!