America the Beautiful

The recent hubbub over the lyrics of our current national anthem got me to thinking. Why not replace it with a much better song, free of troublesome lyrics and much easier to sing? The obvious choice would be America the Beautiful, which from time to time has already been put forward as a better choice.

In addition to a more pleasant tune, which avoids stressful high notes, its lyric is much more positive and less militaristic. I’d much prefer to hear about amber waves of grain and alabaster cities than rockets and bombs. A full inspection of the lyrics does reveal some flaws of its own, however. “God shed His grace on thee” does violate the whole separation of church/state thing. Though a simple lyrical rewrite would solve that issue.  " Long may this land be free", "Our hope resides in thee", "A light for all to see", "Where health care shall be free". Are a few that pop to mind. Any of which would certainly cause an uproar with the religious right.

Moreover, the lyrics have many redeeming qualities. First, they were written by a woman – that’s a nice inclusive start. “Confirm thy soul in self control” and “Till selfish gain no longer stain the banner of the free” speak to curbing excesses and quelling rampant greed – things we could do with more of. “Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life” – another good line about putting societal good above selfish gain. And we could always use more mercy. And who can argue with “crowning thy good with brotherhood” ??

There are some phrases I can’t grok. Alabaster cities “undimmed by human tears”, for example. Do we not cry from time to time? Are non-human tears shed? And what is a “music-hearted sea”? The meaning of the final line is also unclear to me – “Till nobler men keep once again, Thy whiter jubilee”. Is this a white supremacist nod?

Those quirks aside, I’ve always liked the song better myself. Others agree.