American Patriotic Song: 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