Revisiting America the Beautiful

“This popular and eminently singable song was written by Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929), an English professor at Wellesley College. The poem, originally called “Pikes Peak,” was inspired by the sights Bates had seen on a train ride to and from Colorado Springs, especially by the vista she beheld from the top of Pikes Peak.“ See more at What So Proudly We Hail, Making American Citizens Through Literature

Several years ago, my children brought home printed lyrics they were to practice singing for a school concert. I noticed the title, “America the Beautiful” and thought it was good they were learning that beloved classic song. Of course that first verse is familiar to us all, and for many, that’s the entirety of the song we remember. I’d guess for most of us it’s so familiar that we rarely stop to reflect on its meaning. But as I read the rest of the page, I was struck by the stirring beauty of the verses most of us have forgotten. I find now, a decade later, I still catch my breath when I hear them.

One of the things we may easily miss about this song is the lesson behind its structure. While each verse begins with a celebration of something wonderful about America, it ends with a prayer for improvement and protection of those virtues. This strikes me as a quintessentially American reflex: celebration paired with humility and a desire to be better – at least that’s how I was taught to think of America.

Understandably, most of us picture the remarkable physical beauty of our country when we hear the first few lines. But the author quickly reminds us there is more to ask for than majestic surroundings – the grace of God and brotherhood with our fellows are the “crown” to be worked for and prized. The beauty of our land is not complete unless we remember what a gift it is and use it to serve one another.

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!

The second verse begins with a reminder of the boldness of our beginnings and the perseverance of character that was required to settle and claim this land. I admit I feel a thrill of pride when I hear this verse, thinking of the pioneering spirit that is intrinsic to our country. The verse then pleads with God for the virtues we need to balance that proud boldness: improvement through self-control and the guiding boundaries of law that make our liberty possible. This reminder seems especially pertinent today, as the reflex of our current culture is to view self-control as oppressive liberty as the absence of law.

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!

The third verse is, for me, the most stirring, and the reason this song is essential for Memorial Day. There is something about the phrase, “heroes proved in liberating strife” – as if to remind us that force and power (strife) are not to be prized for their own sake, but only when expended for the cause of liberty. It also reminds us that becoming heroic requires more than just a wish to be great – it demands sacrifice and selfless effort. The humble supplication, “May God thy gold refine,” highlights that quintessentially American virtue of meritocracy currently so derided in our culture. “Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine” is the antithesis of our cultural bend toward rewarding identity over merit.

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!

The last verse captures our characteristic optimism and the promise of sacrifice rewarded that has always marked the best of our ideals. The far-sighted vision that projects the hope of our values into the future is the best legacy to leave our children. The song reminds us that human plans, however wise, can never be fully perfected. Nevertheless, America is truly the best possible plan for human flourishing ever enacted, and belief in the “patriot dream that sees beyond the years” is essential.

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!

May God keep safe this vision for which our honored dead gave all. May we never cease to keep their sacrifices close to our hearts. May we instill in our children the humility, sacrifice, boldness, diligence, reliance, and obedience prized by our forebears. May God bless America.