The search for a tune for this text was not easy. However, perhaps the realities of this national injustice underlay the petition at the end of the original stanza two: “God mend thy every flaw. There is a subtle irony in the text for the twenty-first-century singer: stanzas one and four (of the original four-stanza text) include: “and crown thy good with brotherhood” only a little more than two decades after the conclusion of the Civil War and during the Reconstruction period, a time characterized by many atrocities against African Americans. ” – and concluded the hymn with the final four lines of the original second stanza: In addition to omitting the original second stanza, The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) maintains the first four lines of the original final stanza – “O beautiful for patriot dream. Treatment of Native Americans by European immigrants and their descendants reminds us that the “thoroughfare for freedom” came at a high cost for the earlier inhabitants of our land. The first four lines of the original second stanza have been omitted from The United Methodist Hymnal because, according to Carlton Young, it has suggested to some the notion of “white manifest destiny” (Young, 1993, 210): Bates continued to make changes until it was published in its final form in 1911. The only pay that the author ever received for her poem was a small check for its appearance in this periodical. Making sketches in four stanzas on sight, her work as a professor of English at Wellesley absorbed her attention, and the hymn was not published until July 4, 1895, in The Congregationalist with the incipit “O beautiful for halcyon skies”:Ī revision appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript on November 19, 1904. The white neoclassical designed exhibition buildings at the Exposition became known popularly as “The White City.” A vision of Kansas wheat fields observed by train on July 16 stimulated the memorable phrase “amber waves of grain.” After a long ride to the summit by horse- and finally mule-drawn wagon, a brief view of Pike’s Peak provided a panoramic spectacle that was the inspiration for “purple mountain majesties.” A visit to a lagoon at Chicago’s Columbian World Exposition in celebration of the 400 th anniversary of the “discovery” of America by Christopher Columbus inspired the image of “alabaster cities” in the final stanza. Bates began composing this hymn in Colorado Springs, Colorado, while traveling west in 1893 with a group of teachers from New England. In an article published in Boston Athenaeum (1918), the poet provides details of the hymn’s composition. Besides her teaching and literary activities, Bates was known for her advocacy of labor reform, manifest through her involvement in The College Settlements Association, formed in 1890 as an organization “to bring all college women within the scope of a common purpose and a common work.” Katharine Bates never married, but lived for twenty-five years with Katharine Coman. In addition to collections of poetry, she published books on the religious themes in Shakespearean and pre-Shakespearean drama. As a graduate, along with the famous poet Emily Dickenson, of one of the most demanding academic institutions for women, Cornelia provided a model for her daughter, who entered Wellesley College, graduating in 1880 with a B.A., and serving as president of the institution’s second graduating class.Īccording to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Katharine Bates taught at her alma mater from 1880-1925, furthering her study at Oxford. Her hymn has inspired many singers to nationalistic devotion and gratitude to God for this land.Ĭornelia Bates, Katharine’s mother, was a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, a school for young women in Massachusetts. Visit Fluffy and Ivy at America the Beautiful lyrics:Īmerica! America! God shed His grace on thee,Īnd crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929) offers iconic images in “America the Beautiful” that capture the variety of landscapes found throughout the continental United States. Visit the main America the Beautiful lead sheet page for the sheet music to the song in seven keys for piano, recorder, woodwinds, brass, and all string instruments.
Learn more about the history of America the Beautiful. The complete lyrics to the song are shown below. She continued to edit the poem over the following years, and wrote her final version in 1913. Katherine Lee Bates, a professor of English literature at Wellesley College, first published her poem America the Beautiful on July 4, 1895. Home - Sheet Music Index - Song Lyrics - America the Beautiful sheet music The lyrics to America the Beautiful
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