America the Beautiful

"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates, and the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward.

Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, "Pikes Peak", first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. At that time, the poem was titled "America" for publication.

Ward had originally written the music, "Materna", for the hymn "O Mother dear, Jerusalem" in 1882, though it was not first published until 1892. Ward's music combined with the Bates poem was first published in 1910 and titled America the Beautiful.

The song is one of the most popular of the many American patriotic songs.

History

In 1893, at the age of 33, Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her, and they found their way into her poem, including the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the "White City" with its promise of the future contained within its alabaster buildings; the wheat fields of America's heartland Kansas, through which her train was riding on July 16; and the majestic view of the Great Plains from high atop Zebulon's Pikes Peak.

America the Beautiful (disambiguation)

"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song.

America the Beautiful may also refer to:

America the Beautiful (film)

America the Beautiful is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Darryl Roberts about self-image in the United States. The film had a limited release on August 1, 2008.

External links

List of people known as the Beautiful

The Beautiful is an epithet given to:

People:

Fictional or mythological characters:

See also

The Beautiful (album)

The Beautiful is the second album and the first studio recording by Triptych Myth, a trio consisting of Cooper-Moore on piano, Tom Abbs on bass and Chad Taylor on drums. It was recorded in 2005 and released on the AUM Fidelity label. "Frida K. The Beautiful" is dedicated to Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. "Pooch" is dedicated to bassist Wilber Morris.

Reception

The All About Jazz review by Michael McCaw states "The Beautiful is a deeply affecting album of piano-driven interplay that seamlessly spans a range of jazz genres without a hint of trepidation or a false step."

In his review for JazzTimes Mike Shanley notes that "Free jazz might often consist of blistering, harsh sonorities, but these three prove that the quest for beauty is as much a part of this music as catharsis."

Track listing

The Beautiful (band)

The Beautiful was an American rock band from New York City, with a line-up that consisted of Jonathan Lacey (vocals, guitar), Perry Bottke (bass), and Frank Ferrer (drums). Signed to Warner Bros. subsidiary Giant Records (Warner), the group issued a pair of releases - a five-song, self-titled EP in September 1990, and a full-length album, Storybook, in May 1992. The group received some media coverage, including a feature article in Rip Magazine and a video clip for the song "John Doe" being aired on the Headbanger's Ball program on MTV, but by 1993, the group split up.

Since 2006, Frank Ferrer has been a member of Guns N' Roses (replacing Bryan Mantia) - supplying drums on the songs "Chinese Democracy", "Better", "If the World", "There Was a Time" & "I.R.S." on their 2008 album, Chinese Democracy, and touring throughout the world with the band. After the Beautiful and prior to joining Guns N' Roses, Ferrer also played drums for a variety of acts, including The Psychedelic Furs, Perry Farrell, Wyclef Jean, and Tool (band), among others.