From Sea to Shining Sea

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photo FromSea_zps2e62d34e.jpg






















                                                                       Happy Independence Day! In honor of the holiday, here is part of a great patriotic song. The words were written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893. The first verse of America the Beautiful is well known, but one does not often hear the rest of the piece. There are eight verses in all of this wonderful work. Here are verses 3 and 4:

 America the Beautiful

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!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

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