"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". In 1893 Bates had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College. Several of the sights on her trip inspired her, and they found their way into her poem.

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!

She stated that the words of the poem started to come to her when on the pinnacle of Pikes Peak, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room. The poem was initially published two years later in The Congregationalist to commemorate the Fourth of July. At that time, the poem was titled "America" for publication. It quickly caught the public's fancy. Amended versions were published in 1904 and 1911.

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.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org