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While there are plenty of famous and popular patriotic songs to spur flag-wavers to action, there are few – with the exception of “The Star Spangled Banner” – that have captured the hearts of Americans like “God Bless America.” Just go to any ballpark on Memorial Day weekend and you’ll find thousands in the stands who sing along to every word. What many of them may not consider, however, is that the song is a prayer.
Written by Irving Berlin – yes, the same Irving Berlin who wrote the iconic “White Christmas” – in 1918, “God Bless America” has been proven to stand fast in the test of time. The version we sing today was actually the composer’s second pass at the tune, as he revised the work between World War I and World War II.
The latter rendition would go on to become the signature song of singer Kate Smith, who makes Yankee fans cringe when the stadium plays her version at every loss. (When they win, they play Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”)
It is a short song to be sure, with only a few lines of lyrics, but what many do not know is that the standard version we are accustomed to hearing has been cut down by about a third. As it happens, it has become the common practice to cut some of the most prayerful lyrics.
Of course, it could always have been argued that the song is a prayer, as it begins with “God, bless America;” a request to the Lord for a blessing on the nation. After all, the song is not contending that the entire country just sneezed. Still, the prayerful nature of the song becomes much more clear when we look at the lyrics that have been cut:
While the storm clouds gather 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.
When viewed through this prayerful lens, it also makes the line “Stand beside her and guide her” more clearly a request to God, when it could otherwise be seen as a direction of the people to lift their patriotic spirits.
But it’s Memorial Day, so let’s hear a rendition of this fine hymn from the West Point Band, complete with the opening, prayerful lyrics intact:
Want a version that’s a little more hip? Take a listen to this release from Kings Return, one of the finest a cappella vocal groups on the market:
