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The United Methodist Hymnal · No. 696 · Words: Katharine Lee Bates · Tune: MATERNA
America the Beautiful
Create PowerPoint slides from this hymn →America the Beautiful was written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1895 after a visit to Pikes Peak and revised to its familiar form in 1904. The hymn pairs celebration of America's natural grandeur with a prayer for God's grace, brotherhood, and national refinement.
Verse 1
O beautiful
for spacious skies,
for amber waves of grain;
for purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
and crown thy good
with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea.
Verse 2
O beautiful
for heroes proved
in liberating strife,
who more than self
their country loved,
and mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
till all success be nobleness,
and every gain divine.
Verse 3
O beautiful
for patriot dream
that sees beyond the years
thine alabaster cities gleam,
undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control,
thy liberty in law.
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