Song for Sunday: America the Beautiful

A classic hymn, imbedded with prayers for the US, this song is perfect for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. In fact, we sang it in church today. 

Most schoolchildren in the US can sing the first verse, but it was the other verses that struck me today. I especially noted the first two lines of verse three: "Oh, beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!" A fitting reminder of the servicemen and women who paid the supreme sacrifice. I also love that this song acknowledges that America isn't perfect, and reminds us we are under a higher power. 

1. 1. Oh, 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.
2. 2. Oh, beautiful for pilgrim feet,
   Whose stern, impassioned stress
   A thoroughfare of freedom beat
   Across the wilderness!
   America! America!
   God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
   Confirm thy soul in self-control,
   Thy liberty in law.
3. 3. Oh, 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.
4. 4. Oh, 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.
5. Text: Katherine Lee Bates, 1859-1929
   Music: Samuel A. Ward, 1848-1903
6. Public Domain.
7. Here's a link to a version by the Hillsdale College Choir.
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10. On this Memorial Day, however you celebrate it, honor the fallen.