America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful ( America, the Beautiful ) is an American patriotic song. The text is by Katharine Lee Bates . The music was composed by the church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward . Originallyreprintedin the church magazine The Congregationalist in the July 4, 1895 issue, the song was originallycomposed as a poem. At that time it was still called "America" . After the text of the poem had been set to music by Ward, the song was firstpublished in 1910under the title "America the Beautiful" . The song is one of the most popular patriotic songs in the United States of America and is - like " God Bless America " -as an unofficial national anthem alongside the official " The Star-Spangled Banner " .
history
In 1893, the then 33-year-old English professor Katharine Lee Bates traveled to Colorado Springs to teach at Colorado College for a summer . During her trip she was inspired by many sights, which she later incorporated into her poem. One of these sights was the "White City" at the " World's Columbian Exposition " (the world exhibition held in Chicago from May 1 to October 30, 1893 ), which had been conceived as a symbol for civilization and urban planning order and was a direct alternative understood about the innumerable slums.
Two years later, the poem in celebration of Independence Day was published by The Congregationalist newspaper.
The Melody of Ward was written in 1882, according to legend, when he was taking a ferry from Coney Island back to Newark , where he lived and was the organist for Grace Church . The hymn he composed is called "Materna" and was not originally composed for the poem. Ward died in Newark in 1903 and was unable to see the release of America the Beautiful .
There have been various efforts to either confirm this song as the second official national anthem alongside “The Star-Spangled Banner” or even to replace the anthem completely. However, these efforts have so far been unsuccessful. After the attacks of September 11, 2001 , the song's popularity rose again. For example, it was repeatedly played alongside the official national anthem at various sporting events.
Super Bowl 2014
In 2014, during the Super Bowl, an advertisement for the Coca-Cola company was shown in which people of different cultural and ethnic origins, including a woman with a headscarf, sang individual verses of "America the Beautiful" in their respective mother tongues. This sparked heated controversy in the United States; In particular, Americans belonging to the right-wing political spectrum took offense at the fact that the song was not consistently sung in its original English language. There were calls for a boycott against the Coca-Cola company. Conservative opinion leaders such as Allen West , Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham have publicly expressed their indignation.
text
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 stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!
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 ev'ry 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!
swell
Remarks
- ^ Materna (O Mother Dear, Jerusalem) / Samuel Augustus Ward [hymnal]: Print Material Full Description: Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Library of Congress
- ↑ Mark Di Ionno: , America the Beautiful 'began in Newark , The Star-Ledger, March 17, 2016; accessed May 29, 2017.
- ↑ Article in the city magazine
- ↑ Allen West's comment (English) ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ via Glenn Beck's commentary
- ↑ via Laura Ingrahams comment (Eng.)
