The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-02-06

land). arranged the old air into
q paean for the HanoVerisn ruler
who became King George I Of
England.
The song received its chief
impetus into British favor. how
ever. when Henry Carey. The
composer Of Sally IN Our Alley.
and one J. c. Smith, musician,
collaborated on a patriotic num-
Der. God Save Great George Our
King Carey himself Is SUP
posed TO have first sung God
Save the King in a London tav-
srn. in celebration Of a naval
victory by Admiral Vernon.
When colonial American repu-
dated the motherland. there was
no point To singing God Save the
King but the song was too good
to be dropped. Poets sprang up
with alacrity to supply new
verses for the old tune. God
Save George Washington fitted
nicely. and so did God Save the
President. God Save America,
and God Save the Thirteen
States. John Tasker Howard,
the historian of American music.
finds that suffrsgette leader
as early as 1875 used the famous
air for a verse beginning
God save each females right,
Show 70 her ravish'd sight
Woman Is free
Not until 1882. when the
American nation was SIS years
old. did II receive the verses ~
America which all children know
so we'll
nv country. It's OF thee.
Sweet land OF liberty
OF thee I sing:
Land where nv fathers died.
Land OF the Pilgrims pridel
From ev'rv mountain side
Let freedom ringi
The poet was the Rev. Samuel
Francis Smith. a native of Bos-
ton, graduate of Harvard
(class of 1929 and graduate
of Andover Theological seminary
(class of 1892. When Smith was
% years old and a student at
the seminary he was close
friend of Lowell Mason, an out
standing American musician and
a composer of the period. An
other friend of Mason, William
c. Woodbridge. returned from
Europe in 1881 with a stack of
German books. words and music.
Woodbridge turned over the
books to Mason, who was
stumped by the German text.
Il can't read these" Mason
told Smith, but they contain
good music that I can use. Look
through them. IF you find any,
thing particularly good, give me
a translation or an imitation or
something original
One February afternoon Of
1882, as Smith was sitting the
books, he CHANGED upon the tune
Of God Save the King.
Il liked the music" Smith
recalled many years later. Il
glanced at the German words at
the foot of the page. Under the
inspiration Of the moment l
went to work and in half an
hour America was the result.
1t was struck out at a sitting,
without the slightest idea that
it would ever attain the popular
ity it has since enjoyed" The
first time it was sung publicly
was at a children's celebration
of American independence. at
the Park Street church, Boston.
July 4, 1882.
was at reunion of his Harvard
class Of 1929 his classmste. Oil
yer Wendell Holmes. devoted
stanza of The Boys" TO the
author Of America:
And there's nice younRster Of
excellent pith-
Fate thought to conceal him BY
naming him Smith.
But he chsnted a song for the
brave 'and the free
brave an dthe free
Just read on mis- medal. MY Coun-
try It's OF Thee"
Any time l can get anything
free from Manhattan, I'll take il.
Borough President George L.
Harvey of Queens. on decision to
transfer Civic Virtue" much
discussed statue. to that Dor
ough.