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Posted by Arwen Mosher in Just me on Saturday, July 04, 2009 9:00 AM
My mother handed on to me a penchant for enjoying singing all the verses of songs. (You should hear us at Christmastime!)
When I was a child and we sang patriotic songs in school, it disappointed me when we’d stop after the first verse.
And with good reason, because those continuing verses are often the best part of the song!
“America the Beautiful” is my favorite. In honor of our Independence Day today, I’m sharing all the verses here. I hope they inspire you as you celebrate the birth of our great country!
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!
(Katharine Lee Bates)
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Arwen, what a coincidence! My husband hung up our new flag this morning and I was sitting there, trying to remember all the words to this song. After I sung it a few times, I managed to remember almost all of the first two verses. And I thought to myself that I would have to get on the internet and find all the verses. Which I of course promptly forgot! Thanks for posting them! As an aside, my most memorable experience singing this song was in high school when my choir sang it, a cappella, every verse, for a naturalization ceremony. Very moving!
Arwen—a couple comments please. We just did over 5,000 miles of driving (AZ to OH to PA to TX to AZ)... every time I do this sort of trip and see barns painted with American flags… corn that is just 2 ft hi growing in fields along the way… or see the various Christian Churches with their signs of welcome and message… those words about a patriot’s dream and seeing beyond the years—beyond the time when America was being born… oh gosh does the song America the Beautiful resonate within me… makes my heart very tender. Second—last night as I went out to watch firewords—I again was verklempt because of our hope that God will mend our flaws and heal our divided hearts. He can do it… He can! Blessings.
dt
Oh—I just returned from doing a Communion Service for a bunch of boy scouts up in the AZ mountains… it was nice to see the scrubbed faces and hopes for our future.
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