God Bless America!
Irving Berlin, by all accounts one of America's greatest songwriters, came to America in 1893 when his parents left Russia to escape persecution. Drafted into the Army in 1918, he was assigned to create songs for an Army show, Yip! Yip! Yaphank. (Yaphank, on New York's Long Island, was the site of an Army camp.) America's "other national anthem," "God Bless America" was composed for that show, but Berlin was uncomfortable in the role of "flag-waver" and he cut the song.The song was revived by singer Kate Smith Listen to Kate Smith singing "God Bless America": Said Berlin of the anthem, "I've tried to express my feelings in this song, which is not just a song but an expression of my gratitude to the country that inspired it." In true patriotic fashion, Berlin donated all of the royalties and other income from the song to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. Celebrating his 80th birthday in 1968 on the Ed Sullivan Show, he chose to perform "God Bless America." Irving Berlin passed away in 1989 at the age of 101. SIDEBAR: Since the tragic events of "9/11," "God Bless America" has received renewed attention and is now commonly sung as part of "the Great American Pastime," during the "seventh inning stretch" of baseball games. God Bless America Lyrics God bless America, land that I love From the mountains, to the prairies God bless America
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when she chose it for her radio program on Armistice Day, 1938. "God Bless America" met with tremendous immediate and lasting success. Ms. Smith's version is considered by many to be THE definitive version of the song.
