“God Bless America” by Irving Berlin

“God Bless America”

far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

anthem was composed by an immigrant who left

his home in Siberia for America when he was

only five years old. The original version of “God

Bless America” was written by Irving Berlin

(1888-1989) during the summer of 1918 at Camp

Upton, located in Yaphank, Long Island, for

his Ziegfeld-style revue, Yip, Yip, Yaphank. “Make

her victorious on land and foam, God Bless

America…” ran the original lyric. However,

Berlin decided that the solemn tone of “God

Bless America” was somewhat out of keeping

with the more comedic elements of the show

and the song was laid aside.

In the fall of 1938, as war was again threatening Europe, Berlin decided to

write a “peace” song. He recalled his “God Bless America” from

twenty years earlier and made some alterations to reflect the different state

of the world. Singer Kate Smith introduced the revised “God Bless America” during

her radio broadcast on Armistice Day, 1938. The song was an immediate sensation;

the sheet music was in great demand. Berlin soon established the God Bless

17-Jun-2005