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| | Welcome Patriots! | | | |
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Welcome
to Patriot Dreams. As a boy growing up one of my favorite times
of the year was the Fourth of July. In our Small Town America,
patriotism ran deep. Every Fourth there would be an early morning
flag raising ceremony coupled with the singing of the National Anthem followed by my favorite song about America, America The
Beautiful. The verses still inspire me today when I hear Ray
Charles sing his rendition. I get chills up my spine & my eyes get
moist in consideration of all we have been blessed with as well as all
those who gave the ultimate sacrifice that we might live as free people.
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I remember as a teen being taken to this historic site by my parents as
a part of a family vacation. While I listened to the Beatles on
the drive, as we rounded the mountains & this imposing sculpture
came into view, suddenly the petulence of my youth was taken in a sense of awe for
what stood before me. As we pulled into the parking lot below the
monument, again, my mind was called up to memories of summers past,
& of celebrations honoring our great land. As I stood there,
I could feel my heart swell & would swear I could hear the strains
of that song that so captures the bounty, beauty & the Spirit of America.
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Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original version in 1893.
She wrote the
2nd version in 1904. Her final version
was written in 1913.
Here is a note from Katharine Lee Bates:
"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to
go on a trip to
14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a
prairie wagon. Near the top we had
to leave the wagon
and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very
tired.
But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the
wonder of
America seemed displayed there, with the
sea-like expanse."
America the Beautiful
Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
Chorus
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
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!
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O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
Chorus
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
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!
O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!
O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
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
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee! |
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Become a Patriot
