Link to original video: https://youtu.be/TmfeNq5x5aQ

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
[FLASH_VI]

Thank you, Jim. I am embarrassed to say that I have never heard the lyrics that began the song and led into the first chorus. I have only heard it begin with "God Bless America...". I am very happy to hear this sung in its entirety, as intended.

It's great to Ronaldus Magnus in the video too!



.
.

My HS Choir sang this at halftime during our home football games. The entire crowd stood and sung along.
How sadly times have changed.

I did not know about the beginning of the song either. Interesting read here...
God Bless America Wiki

Former FEMA director and Conservative talk show host Michael Brown used to end his show with Kate Smith singing this song, although I'm not sure if it was the rendition in the video.

That sports teams in Philadelphia and New York decided to remove her statue and discontinue playing her song during their home events in protest to the lyrics in a couple of her other songs, is just one more reason why I appreciate her full-throated version of this patriotic song.

The GREATEST GENERATION!
Makes me ashamed of what we have created since they passed the baton to us.

Thanks, Jim.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
The GREATEST GENERATION!
Makes me ashamed of what we have created since they passed the baton to us.

I was also thinking about the timing of this song, 1943, and what Americans were going through, and praying about, during such an uncertain time.

I also thought about my father and mother. They were young newlyweds and he was going through the necessary training in the Army Air Corps to become a B17 pilot. He was getting shipped all over the country, and my mother dutifully followed, finding jobs wherever they were so she they could live off base and make ends meet.



.

Thank you very much! No one -- no one -- has sung that song with the honest devotion that Kate Smith did. I cry every time I hear it (patriotic fervor).

I have known the introductory words for many decades, and they are exemplary. It is a shame that they are so seldom also sung.

Someone said that this was Kate Smith's "signature song". I don't agree. Her "signature song" was "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain".
https://video.search.yahoo.com...99249304&action=view

FWIW, did everyone notice the cameo appearance of #40 near the end, reading the newspaper?

flashguy

Thanks Jim

Learned something new

Great performance.
Brings back childhood memories.
Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful song.

The leftist Woody Gutherie, wrote "This Land is Your Land" to counter, God Bless America, from what I understand.