God Bless America
God Bless America is a patriotic American song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 . In 1938 he revised it and performed it for the first time by Kate Smith on her radio show The Kate Smith Hour .
History and content
On March 21, 1939 Kate Smith recorded the song, it was released in April 1939 on Victor Records under the number 26198 and reached number 10 on the US hit parade . An intense airplay in radio stations quickly made the piece known.
The refrain is a plea to God to protect and bless the United States; it is preceded by a stanza calling for loyalty to the United States. It became one of America's unofficial national anthems alongside America the Beautiful , This Land Is Your Land, and The Battle Hymn of the Republic . A special feature is the fact that the first four lines of the song, if they are not left out entirely, are mostly spoken in the manner of a preamble and not sung.
Because of its cultural and historical significance to the United States, the radio premiere of God Bless America , sung by Kate Smith, was entered into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress on January 27, 2003 . The reason given by the National Recording Preservation Board is that God Bless America has “ become the de facto anthem of the nation. Singer Kate Smith first played the fast-becoming trademark song on her radio show on November 11, 1938. It was an immediate sensation, the power and patriotism of which has not diminished in the decades since. Although subsequently covered by countless other artists, Smith's great version remains the best-known and most popular interpretation. "
text
While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through 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.
translation
As the storm clouds gather, from far beyond the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a free land,
Let us all be grateful for this just land,
And raise our voices in solemn prayer.
God bless America,
land I love.
Stand by her and lead her
with a light from above through the night
From the mountains to the prairies,
To the oceans white with spray.
God bless America, my home, my sweet home.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/kate.cgi
- ^ God Bless America in the National Recording Registry. Retrieved on August 11, 2017 : "" God Bless America "has become the nation's de facto anthem. Songstress Kate Smith performed her soon to-be signature song for the first time on her radio show on November 11, 1938. It was an immediate sensation whose power and patriotism has not been diminished in the decades since. Though subsequently covered by innumerable other artists, Smith's resounding version remains the best known and most beloved rendition. "