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)
(Source)

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.

WIST Quotations

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