America the Beautiful

Performance hints: Pitch: D (Key of G)

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed full grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

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 every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful thy immigrants
Who hail from every land
Their hope and heart and diligence
Like gifts from god’s own hand
America! America!
Thy grace shall yet remain
To greet the poor who reach thy shore
With open arms again

O beautiful thy working folk
Built cities, tilled thy soil
Proud Africans in bloody chains
The wealth built from their toil
America! America!
God shed much grace on thee
So spread the love sent from above
From sea to shining sea
Ring sisterhood! Ring brotherhood!
From sea to shining se

Credits: Katherine Lee Bates and Samuel A Ward; additional lyrics by Jesse Palidofsky and John Morris
Notes: **Requires Introduction:**
"America the Beautiful" When we sing Katherine Lee Bates lyrics from 1895, we celebrate the beauty of this nation; but also CALL ON IT, in Bates's words, to "mend thine every flaw and confirm ... thy liberty in law."
In her words, our freedoms are thanks not only to those who served, and fell, but to all who struggled & suffered for justice: the abolitionists, the self-emancipated, the union strikers, the suffragettes, the freedom riders, the ACT-UP activists, and our transgender siblings living their authentic lives. These, and more, are the heroes who make America beautiful.
Sing with us! We will call out the words for the original verses, plus one new verse
**Background:** Bates wrote the poem "Pike's Peak" in 1895. Ward composed the hymn "Materna" in 1883. The two were brought together as "America the Beautiful" and published in 1910 by Oliver Ditson & Co. Jesse Palidofsky and John Morris wrote the last 2 verses about immigrants and working people for the 2020 elections. **Song leaders:** Choose whichever verses are best suited to the occasion.
Teachability: very easy
Initial participation:high