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God Bless America
by Irving Berlin |
"God Bless America" is an
American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918
and revised by him in 1938. It is sometimes considered
an unofficial national anthem of the United States.
Berlin originally wrote the song in 1918 while serving
in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, but
decided that it did not fit in a review called Yip Yip
Yaphank, so he set it aside. The lyrics at that time
included the line, "Make her victorious on land and
foam, God bless America..."
In 1938, with the rise of ****** in Germany, Berlin, who was a
Jewish immigrant from Siberia, felt it was time to
revive it as a "peace song" and it was introduced on an
Armistice Day broadcast in 1938 sung by Kate Smith. The
song was a hit; there was even a movement to make "God
Bless America" the national anthem of the United States.
In 1943, Smith's rendition was featured in the patriotic
musical This Is the Army along with other Berlin songs.
Manuscripts in the Library of Congress reveal the
evolution of the song from victory to peace.
* [May his Name be blotted
out]
Woody Guthrie disliked the song, and wrote "This Land Is
Your Land", originally titled "God Blessed America For
Me", as a response to "God Bless America".
Later, from 1969 through the early 1970s, Smith's
recording of the song before many Philadelphia Flyers
contests brought it renewed popularity (as well as an
apparent "good luck charm" to the Flyers), long before
it became a nationwide sporting event staple. The Flyers
even brought Smith in to sing "live" before the final
game of Stanley Cup Playoffs in the spring of 1974, and
the Flyers won the cup that day.
In recent years the song is increasingly sung at
sporting events, recitals, and other public events where
national anthems are sung, sometimes replacing "The
Star-Spangled Banner". The song was frequently the
vehicle chosen to express patriotism in the days
following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"God Bless America" is similar in format and lyrics to
many other contemporary national anthems, and is popular
as a "modern" national anthem because of its memorable
words and tune, as opposed to the rather complex music
and abstract (and war-oriented) lyrics of "The
Star-Spangled Banner". It seems evident from the chorus,
and is clear from the full lyrics, that Berlin's song is
in the form of a prayer for God's blessing and peace for
the nation—"stand beside her and guide her through the
night"—not an empty appeal to nationalistic sentiment
nor any claim that "God is on our side."
Berlin gave the royalties of the song to the God Bless
America Fund for redistribution to the Boy Scouts and
Girl Scouts of the USA.
The song was by far the most common choice for memorials
for the September 11, 2001 attacks. On the evening of
September 11, 2001, members of the United States
Congress gathered at the steps of the Capitol for a news
conference started singing "God Bless America. September
11, 2001 |
God Bless America.
Land that I love
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru 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.
God Bless America,
Land that I love
Stand beside her,
And guide her,
Through the night
With the light from above,
From the mountains,
To the prairies,
To the ocean,
White with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home.
God bless America,
My home sweet home. |
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