Contact NIEHS, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services
Children's Privacy and Other Disclaimers
Can't Hear the Music?

America the Beautiful


(lyrics by Katherine Lee Bates;
music composed by Samuel A. Ward --
more history on the poem and music)
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!		 Overlaid pictures representing America
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness.

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

O beautiful for heroes prov'd
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.

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.

A Little Bit of History....

The lyrics to this beautiful song were written by Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929) an instructor at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, after an inspiring trip to the top of Pikes Peak, Colorado, in 1893. Her poem, America the Beautiful first appeared in print in The Congregationalist, a weekly journal, on July 4, 1895. Ms. Bates revised the lyrics in 1904 and again in 1913. In addition to those changes in the words, it is notable that the poem was not always sung to the tune presented on this website ("Materna," composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882, nearly a decade before the poem was written). In fact, for two years after it was written it was sung to just about any popular or folk tune that would fit with the lyrics, with "Auld Lang Syne" being the most notable of those. The words were not published together with "Materna" until 1910, and even after that time, the tune to be used was challenged to some degree. For example, in 1926 the National Federation of Music Clubs held a contest to put the poem to new, reportedly "less somber," music, but no other entry was determined to be more acceptable. Before her death in 1929, Ms. Bates never indicated publicly which music she liked best, but it now appears likely that America the Beautiful will forever be associated with "Materna."

Contact NIEHS (NIH, DHHS)
Children's Privacy and Other Disclaimers
NIEHS Sing-Along Index
NIEHS Kids Page Main Index

Links Disclaimer and Caution
When you encounter this image link to a non-NIEHS site or the words "Non-NIEHS Link", it means that by following that link you will be leaving the NIEHS website. NIEHS is NOT responsible for non-NIEHS websites. Sites maintained by outside organizations may be changed without notice to NIEHS. Therefore, unless the link is to another U.S. government sponsored webpage, endorsement by NIEHS is not implied, and NIEHS does not guarantee their continuing safe content or privacy policies. So please ask your parent or guardian before continuing to any non-NIEHS website, and especially before providing any information via the internet or by e-mail. When last reviewed, the websites linked from the NIEHS Kids' Pages seemed suitable for you to visit, but that may have changed; if you have any difficulties or concerns with any linked materials, please let us know.

NIEHS Kids' Pages are supported by the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison,
PO Box 12233, NH-10, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709. Telephone: (919) 541-3345.
This page was last modified and reviewed for accessibility by the NIEHS Office of Management on .
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
Office of Inspector General, DHHS

DHHS logo NIH logo NIEHS logo USA.Gov logo