![]() It was sung for many years to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. It was titled Materna and was first published in 1910. The original melody was written in 1882 by Samuel Augustus Ward, a composer and organist. It was then and there, as I was looking out over the sea-like expanse of fertile country spreading away so far under those ample skies, that the opening lines of the hymn floated into my mind.” We were hoping for half an hour on the summit, but two of our party became so faint in the rarified air that we were bundled into the wagons again and started on our downward plunge so speedily that our sojourn on the peak remains in memory hardly more than one ecstatic gaze. Prairie wagons, their tail-boards emblazoned with the traditional slogan, “Pike’s Peak or Bust,” were pulled by horses up to the half-way house, where the horses were relieved by mules. There is a plaque there today and the story is best told by Katharine herself: “We strangers celebrated the close of the session by a merry expedition to the top of Pike’s Peak, making the ascent by the only method then available for people not vigorous enough to achieve the climb on foot nor adventurous enough for burro-riding. She made a trip to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, which was her inspiration for the lyrics to America the Beautiful. It was originally published in the July 4 th edition of The Congregationalist, 1895.īates was a teacher and professor of English at Wellesley College, poet and author of books such as America the Beautiful and Other Poems, which was published in 1911. The words of this song came from a poem of the same title by Bates. Katharine Lee Bates (1859 -1929), wrote the original poem in 1893 and revised it twice in 19. ![]() ![]() ![]() Do you know the story behind this Independence Day song? When we hear that first line of one of our most beloved national hymns, the emotions of Love for Country stir within us. ![]()
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