The original poem for the song "America the Beautiful" was written by Katherine Lee Bates on July 22, 1893. She was inspired to write the poem after seeing the beauty of the mountains in Colorado. The song was published two years later on July 4,1895. It is the American national hymn.
At various times in the more than 100 years that have elapsed since the song as we know it was born, particularly during the John F. Kennedy administration, there have been efforts to give "America the Beautiful" legal status either as a national hymn, or as a national anthem equal to, or in place of, "The Star Spangled Banner", but so far this has not succeeded. Proponents prefer "America the Beautiful" for various reasons, saying it is easier to sing, more melodic, and more adaptable to new orchestrations while still remaining as easily recognizable as "The Star-Spangled Banner." Some prefer "America the Beautiful" over "The Star-Spangled Banner" due to the latter's war-oriented imagery.
My favorite version has always been that of Ray Charles singing this hymn. It is on the songlist of this blog, so please take a moment and listen. While at Lackland for John's BMT graduation, this version was played just prior to the Coin Ceremony...it was impossible to hold back Mom tears. While on topic of music, each song on the playlist has special meaning.
Hmmmm... another post in the near future!
John, I do love you so!
John, I do love you so!
1 comment:
Thank you so much for leaving a comment on my blog and I appreciate your candor. I wish the entire episode with afmom121 had never happened. If she had simply emailed me or not left the second comment, I would have happily discussed her concerns.
I do agree with you that her comment probably came from a place of fear for her son. Unfortunately, her insistance upon WHAT I WAS LEAVING OUT made it seem to many that she was implying I was lying about CJ's situation.
If this had come 6 months from now, I most likely would NOT have felt the need to blog about it. But it happened NOW, while we feel raw as a family and I just couldn't NOT address it. I really wanted to write her privately but she never gave me the chance.
Ultimately, I think we are all concerned about our children and really are in this together. You wrote beautifully about it on my blog and I thank you.
Btw, your Airman is quite handsome!
I will keep him in my prayers and hope that he has a long and successful Air Force career.
Hallie :)
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