Posts Tagged "Samuel A. Ward"
America, The Beautiful
Lesser known, but just as beautiful a song, we often reserved America The Beautiful for our ceremonies where parents were invited. The song was originally written in the 1880s by Katherine Lee Bates and the music was composed by church organist Samuel A. Ward (from Wikipedia)
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 they good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet whose stern impassioned 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 glorious tale of liberating strife,
When valiantly for man’s avail, Men lavished precious 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 they good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
