Bates, Katharine Lee -- Poem (1893), “America,” st. 1, The Congregationalist, Vol. 80, No. 27 (1895-07-04)

Dave — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:44:12 +0000

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!

Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929) American writer and poet
Poem (1893), “America,” st. 1, The Congregationalist, Vol. 80, No. 27 (1895-07-04)

Bates wrote the poem "America" after a trip across the US to teach at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, her inspiration prompted by the view from atop Pikes Peak (elevation 14,115 ft / 4,302 m; her original title for the poem was "Pikes Peak").

The above is the original version of the first stanza of the poem. Bates revised that text by 1904 to the more familiar:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

The poem was combined in 1910 by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward with his 1882 tune "Materna" (originally written for the 17th Century hymn "O Mother dear, Jerusalem"), under the title "America the Beautiful."

For more information on the history of this poem and song, see America the Beautiful - Wikipedia.

Bates, Katharine Lee -- Poem (1893), “America,” st. 2 (1904 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:23:41 +0000

America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929) American writer and poet
Poem (1893), “America,” st. 2 (1904 ed.)

This text was introduced in Bates' 1904 version of the song. It was not in the original version published in The Congregationalist, Vol. 80, No. 27 (1895-07-04); the end of stanza 2 originally ended:

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

For more information on the history of this poem and song, see America the Beautiful - Wikipedia.

WIST Quotations

Bates, Katharine Lee -- Poem (1893), “America,” st. 1, The Congregationalist, Vol. 80, No. 27 (1895-07-04)

Bates, Katharine Lee -- Poem (1893), “America,” st. 2 (1904 ed.)