|
Who Wrote "God Bless
America"?
America's unofficial
national anthem was composed by an immigrant who left his home for
America when he was
only five years old. The original version of "God Bless America" was
written by Irving Berlin (1888-1989) during the summer of 1918 at
Camp Upton, located in Yaphank, Long Island, for his Ziegfeld-style
revue, Yip, Yip, Yaphank. "Make her victorious on land and foam, God
Bless America..." ran the original lyric. However, Berlin decided
that the solemn tone of "God Bless America" was somewhat out of
keeping with the more comedic elements of the show and the song was
laid aside.
In the fall of 1938, as
war was again threatening Europe, Berlin decided to write a "peace"
song. He recalled his "God Bless America" from twenty years earlier
and made some alterations to reflect the different state of the
world. Singer Kate Smith introduced the revised "God Bless America"
during her radio broadcast on Armistice Day, 1938. The song was an
immediate sensation; the sheet music was in great demand. Berlin
soon established the God Bless America Fund, dedicating the
royalties to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.
Berlin's file of
manuscripts and lyric sheets for this quintessentially American song
includes manuscripts in the hand of Berlin's longtime musical
secretary, Helmy Kresa (Berlin himself did not read and write
music), as well as lyric sheets, and corrected proof copies for the
sheet music.
These materials
document not only the speed with which Berlin revised this song, but
also his attention to detail. The first proof copy is dated October
31, 1938; the earliest "final" version of the song is a manuscript
dated November 2; and Kate Smith's historic broadcast took place on
November 11. These documents show the song's step-by-step evolution
from the original version of 1918 to the tune we now know.
These manuscripts are
part of the Irving Berlin Collection, a remarkable collection that
includes Berlin's personal papers as well as the records of the
Irving Berlin Music Corp. It was presented to the Library of
Congress in 1992, by Berlin's daughters, Mary Ellin Barrett, Linda
Louise Emmet, and Elizabeth Irving Peters. |
