America the Beautiful - wikipedia America the Beautiful For other uses, see America the Beautiful ( disambiguation ). `` Materna '' redirects here. For other uses, see Materna ( disambiguation ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2013 ) `` America the Beautiful '' by Samuel A. Ward Sheet music Genre Patriotic song Text by Katharine Lee Bates Published 1910 ( words with music ) `` America the Beautiful '' Performed by the United States Navy Band and Sea Chanters, arr. Carmen Dragon `` America the Beautiful '' United States Army Band Brass version Problems playing these files ? See media help. Historical marker at Grace Church in Newark where Samuel Ward worked as organist, and wrote and perfected the tune `` Materna '' for America the Beautiful. `` America the Beautiful '' is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates, and the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, `` Pikes Peak '', first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. At that time, the poem was titled `` America '' for publication. Ward had originally written the music, `` Materna '', for the hymn `` O Mother dear, Jerusalem '' in 1882, though it was not first published until 1892. Ward 's music combined with the Bates poem was first published in 1910 and titled America the Beautiful. The song is one of the most popular of the many American patriotic songs. Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics 3 Popular versions 4 Idioms 5 Books 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links History Commemoration plaque atop Pikes Peak in July 1999 In 1893, at the age of 33, Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her, and they found their way into her poem, including the World 's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the `` White City '' with its promise of the future contained within its alabaster buildings ; the wheat fields of America 's heartland Kansas, through which her train was riding on July 16 ; and the majestic view of the Great Plains from high atop Pikes Peak. On the pinnacle of that mountain, the words of the poem started to come to her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room at the original Antlers Hotel. The poem was initially published two years later in The Congregationalist to commemorate the Fourth of July. It quickly caught the public 's fancy. Amended versions were published in 1904 and 1911. The first known melody written for the song was sent in by Silas Pratt when the poem was published in The Congregationalist. By 1900, at least 75 different melodies had been written. A hymn tune composed by Samuel A. Ward was generally considered the best music as early as 1910 and is still the popular tune today. Just as Bates had been inspired to write her poem, Ward, too, was inspired to compose his tune. The tune came to him while he was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City, after a leisurely summer day in 1882, and he immediately wrote it down. Supposedly, he was so anxious to capture the tune in his head, he asked fellow passenger friend Harry Martin for his shirt cuff to write the tune on. He composed the tune for the old hymn `` O Mother Dear, Jerusalem '', retitling the work `` Materna ''. Ward 's music combined with Bates 's poem were first published together in 1910 and titled `` America the Beautiful ''. Ward died in 1903, not knowing the national stature his music would attain since the music was only first applied to the song in 1904. Bates was more fortunate since the song 's popularity was well established by the time of her death in 1929. At various times in the more than 100 years that have elapsed since the song was written, particularly during the John F. Kennedy administration, there have been efforts to give `` America the Beautiful '' legal status either as a national hymn or as a national anthem equal to, or in place of, `` The Star - Spangled Banner '', but so far this has not succeeded. Proponents prefer `` America the Beautiful '' for various reasons, saying it is easier to sing, more melodic, and more adaptable to new orchestrations while still remaining as easily recognizable as `` The Star - Spangled Banner ''. Some prefer `` America the Beautiful '' over `` The Star - Spangled Banner '' due to the latter 's war - oriented imagery. Others prefer `` The Star - Spangled Banner '' for the same reason. While that national dichotomy has stymied any effort at changing the tradition of the national anthem, `` America the Beautiful '' continues to be held in high esteem by a large number of Americans. This song was used as the background music of the television broadcast of the Tiangong - 1 launch. The song is often included in songbooks in a wide variety of religious congregations in the United States. Lyrics America. A Poem for July 4. Original poem ( 1893 ) O beautiful for halcyon skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the enameled plain ! America ! America ! God shed His grace on thee, Till souls wax fair as earth and air And music - hearted sea ! O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern, impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness ! America ! America ! God shed His grace on thee Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought By pilgrim foot and knee ! O beautiful for glory - tale Of liberating strife, When once or twice, for man 's avail, Men lavished precious life ! America ! America ! God shed His grace on thee Till selfish gain no longer stain, The banner of the free ! 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 Till nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee ! 1904 version 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 glorious tale Of liberating strife, When valiantly for man 's avail Men lavish precious 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. 1911 version 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 every 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 every 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 ! Popular versions In 1976, while the United States celebrated its bicentennial, a soulful version popularized by Ray Charles peaked at number 98 on the US R&B Charts, and is included on the soundtrack for the movie The Sandlot. Three different renditions of the song have entered the Hot Country Songs charts. The first was by Charlie Rich, which went to number 22 in 1976. A second, by Mickey Newbury, peaked at number 82 in 1980. An all - star version of `` America the Beautiful '' performed by country singers Trace Adkins, Sherrié Austin, Billy Dean, Vince Gill, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Toby Keith, Brenda Lee, Lonestar, Lyle Lovett, Lila McCann, Lorrie Morgan, Jamie O'Neal, The Oak Ridge Boys, Collin Raye, Kenny Rogers, Keith Urban and Phil Vassar reached number 58 in July 2001. The song re-entered the chart following the September 11 attacks. A punk rock adaptation of the song was recorded in 1976 by New York band The Dictators, and released on their album Every Day is Saturday. Popularity of the song increased greatly following the September 11 attacks ; at some sporting events it was sung in addition to the traditional singing of the national anthem. During the first taping of the Late Show with David Letterman following the attacks, CBS newsman Dan Rather cried briefly as he quoted the fourth verse. For Super Bowl XLVIII, The Coca - Cola Company aired a multilingual version of the song, sung in several different languages. The commercial received some criticism on social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, and from some conservatives, such as Glenn Beck. Despite the controversies, Coca - Cola later reused the Super Bowl ad during Super Bowl LI, the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics and in patriotic holidays. Idioms `` From sea to shining sea '', originally used in the charters of some of the English Colonies in North America, is an American idiom meaning `` from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean '' ( or vice versa ). Other songs that have used this phrase include the American patriotic song `` God Bless the USA '' and Schoolhouse Rock 's `` Elbow Room ''. The phrase and the song are also the namesake of the Shining Sea Bikeway, a bike path in Bates 's hometown of Falmouth, Massachusetts. The phrase is similar to the Latin phrase `` A Mari Usque Ad Mare '' ( `` From sea to sea '' ), which serves as the official motto of Canada. `` Purple mountain majesties '' refers to the shade of the Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which inspired Bates to write the poem. Books Lynn Sherr 's 2001 book America the Beautiful discusses the origins of the song and the backgrounds of its authors in depth. The book points out that the poem has the same meter as that of `` Auld Lang Syne '' ; the songs can be sung interchangeably. Additionally, Sherr discusses the evolution of the lyrics, for instance, changes to the original third verse written by Bates. The song appears in Ellen Raskin 's The Westing Game. References Jump up ^ `` ' America the Beautiful ' began in Newark Di Ionno ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 18. Jump up ^ McKim, LindaJo ( 1993 ). The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion. Louisville, Kentucky : John Knox Press. p. 379. ISBN 9780664251802. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 22. ( McKim notes that Ward mailed a friend a postcard in which he stated the hymn had been composed in 1882, however ). Jump up ^ `` Materna ( O Mother Dear, Jerusalem ) / Samuel Augustus Ward ( hymnal ) : Print Material Full Description : Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Library of Congress ''. Lcweb2.loc.gov. 2007 - 10 - 30. Retrieved 2011 - 08 - 20. Jump up ^ COONEY, BETH ( 2001 - 11 - 09 ). `` A Stirring Story Behind ' America the Beautiful ' ''. Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458 - 3035. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 21. Jump up ^ `` No. 1238 : 1893 Exhibition ''. www.uh.edu. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 21. Jump up ^ `` America the Beautiful ''. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Ace Collins ( 30 August 2009 ). Stories Behind the Hymns That Inspire America : Songs That Unite Our Nation. Zondervan. ISBN 978 - 0 - 310 - 86685 - 5. Jump up ^ Collins, Ace ( 2003 ). Songs Sung Red, White, and Blue : The Stories Behind America 's Best - Loved Patriotic Songs. Harper. p. 19. ISBN 0 - 06 - 051304 - 7. Jump up ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/30/china-launch-america-the-beautiful Jump up ^ Bates, Katherine Lee ( 1897 ). `` America. A Poem for July 4 ''. The American Kitchen Magazine. 7 : 151. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 13. Jump up ^ Bates, Katharine Lee ( 1911 ). America the Beautiful and Other Poems. New York : Thomas Y. Crowell Company, pp. 3 - 4. Jump up ^ Ray Charles discography Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2008 ). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 350. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 177 - 2. Jump up ^ Whitburn, p. 297 Jump up ^ Whitburn, p. 24 Jump up ^ Dictators discography Jump up ^ Zacharek, Stephanie ( 2001 - 09 - 18 ). `` Dan Rather 's tears ; Journalists do n't cry on camera. That was before last week. ''. Salon.com. Jump up ^ `` Coca Cola 's Super Bowl ad angers conservatives ''. NY Daily News. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Coca - Cola Super Bowl ad : Can you believe this reaction ? ''. USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 06. Jump up ^ Poniewozik, James ( February 2, 2014 ). `` Coca - Cola 's `` It 's Beautiful '' Super Bowl Ad Brings Out Some Ugly Americans ``. Time. Jump up ^ `` It 's Beautiful '' Commercial by the Coca - Cola Company Press Center. February 5, 2017 Jump up ^ `` Coca - Cola ran a Super Bowl commercial about diversity and inclusion and people are mad ''. SB Nation. Retrieved 6 February 2017. Jump up ^ Martin, Gary. `` From sea to shining sea ''. Phrases.org. Retrieved 24 July 2014. Jump up ^ http://www.americanheritage.org/Elementary_Extraction_15-America_the_Beautiful_TX.pdf Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Sherr, Lynn ( 2001 ). America the Beautiful : The Stirring True Story Behind Our Nation 's Favorite Song. New York : PublicAffairs. p. 78. ISBN 978 - 1 - 58648 - 085 - 1. Retrieved June 6, 2013. Further reading Collins, Ace. Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue : The Stories Behind America 's Best - Loved Patriotic Songs. HarperResource, 2003. ISBN 0060513047 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Katharine Lee Bates America the Beautiful. Wikisource has original text related to this article : America the Beautiful MP3 and RealAudio recordings available at the United States Library of Congress Free sheet music of America the Beautiful from Cantorion.org Words, sheet music & MIDI file at the Cyber Hymnal America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs named for Katharine Lee Bates ' words. Archival collection of America the Beautiful lantern slides from the 1930s. Another free sheet music National symbols of the United States Symbols Flag of the United States Seal of the United States Bald eagle Uncle Sam Columbia General Grant ( tree ) American 's Creed Pledge of Allegiance Rose Oak American bison Phrygian cap Songs `` The Star - Spangled Banner '' `` Dixie '' `` America the Beautiful '' `` The Stars and Stripes Forever '' `` Hail to the Chief '' `` Hail, Columbia '' `` My Country, ' Tis of Thee '' `` God Bless America '' `` Lift Every Voice and Sing '' `` The Army Goes Rolling Along '' `` Anchors Aweigh '' `` Marines ' Hymn '' `` Semper Fidelis '' `` The Air Force Song '' `` Semper Paratus '' `` National Emblem '' `` The Washington Post March '' `` The Battle Hymn of the Republic '' `` Yankee Doodle '' `` You 're a Grand Old Flag '' `` When Johnny Comes Marching Home '' Mottos In God We Trust E Pluribus Unum Novus ordo seclorum Annuit cœptis Landmarks Statue of Liberty ( Liberty Enlightening the World ) Liberty Bell Mount Rushmore National Mall West Potomac Park Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=America_the_Beautiful&oldid=798073530 '' Categories : 1895 songs American patriotic songs Pikes Peak Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016 Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from November 2013 All articles needing additional references Use mdy dates from June 2013 Articles with hAudio microformats Articles containing Latin - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Deutsch Español Français Italiano Nederlands Polski Português Русский Suomi ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 30 August 2017, at 20 : 40. 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Question: where was the song america the beautiful written
Answer: Newark, New Jersey