June 29, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, June 29.
As we approach our nation’s very special birthday (the Semiquincentennial!), we’ll take the opportunity each day this week to focus on some of our favorite patriotic songs. We begin with my favorite.
What do you call our country? Do you say “The United States”? Like most people, you probably just say “America”. But before the 20th century, hardly anyone called it by that name. A significant factor in the change was a little poem written in 1895 by a young schoolteacher. Katherine Bates titled her poem, “America, the Beautiful”. Our National Anthem doesn’t mention that name, and neither does “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”. But six years after Bates poem was published, to great acclaim, Theodore Roosevelt was elected president, and he continually called his nation by the beautiful name, America.
In 1971, Ray Charles recorded a slow and soulful version of this hymn. It received very little attention. And then, five years later, as we celebrated our 200th anniversary, the Bicentennial, the song was reissued and it became a national sensation. It remains a very personal and inspiring rendition that often brings a tear to the eye. I love this song’s poetic lyric and lovely tune, but it’s another feature that I love the best. Katherine Bates, while celebrating the greatness of our country, also urges us to commit ourselves to make it even better, with phrases like “God mend thine every flaw”, “Confirm thy soul in self-control”, “May God thy gold refine”, “Till all success be nobleness”. And then there’s those final words - ”Crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea”.
A song birthed in the 19th century, nurtured in the 20th, and with a message particularly appropriate . . . for today.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
