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Berlin originally wrote the song in 1918 while serving in the US Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, but decided that it did not fit in a review called Yip Yip Yaphank, so he set it aside. The lyrics at that time included the line, "Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America..."
In 1938, with the rise of Hitler, Berlin, who was a Jewish immigrant from Siberia, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song" and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938 sung by Kate Smith. The song was a hit; there was even a movement to make "God Bless America" the national anthem of the United States. In 1943, Smith's rendition was featured in the patriotic musical This Is the Army along with other Berlin songs. Manuscripts in the Library of CongressThe Library of Congress the unofficial national library of the United States, is one of the most important libraries in the world. Originally founded as a research library for the United States Congress April 24th 1800, its original collection were the bo reveal the evolution of the song from victory to peace.
In recent years the song is increasingly sung at sporting events, recitals, and other public events where national anthems are sung. It sometimes even replaces " The Star-Spangled Bannerbroadside on September 17 under the title "The Defence of Fort M'Henry," with an explanatory note explaining the circumstances of its writing. Of the five copies made, two are known to still exist. Fort McHenry. 1814 copy of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was". "God Bless America" is similar in format and lyrics to many other contemporary national anthems, and is popular as a "modern" national anthem because of its memorable words and tune, as opposed to the rather complex music and abstract lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner." It is clear from the full lyrics that Berlin's song is in the form of a prayerPrayer is an effort to communicate with a God, or to some deity or deities, either to offer praise to the deity, to make a request of the deity, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions to the deity. There are a variety approaches to understanding for "God's blessing" and peace for the nation – "stand beside her and guide her through the night" – not an empty appeal to nationalisticNationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. Nationalists base nations on various notions of political legitimacy. These can derive from the Romantic theory of " cultural identity", sentiment.
Berlin gave the royalties of the song to the God Bless America Fund for redistribution to the Boy ScoutsThe Boy Scouts of America BSA is an organization for boys between the ages of 7 and 14, and for both young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21, based in the United States of America, with some presence in other countries. BSA is part of the global and Girl Scouts of America.
The song was by far the most common choice for memorials for the September 11, 2001 attack. On the evening of September 11, 2001, members of the United States CongressThe United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The structure and responsibilities of Congress are defined in Article One of the United States Constitution. The United States Congress is bicameral, meaning tha gathered at the steps of the Capitol for a news conference started singing "God Bless America".
Since the attacks, "God Bless America" has been sung at the begining of the seventh inning in Major League Baseball games.
The song generates some controversy in view of the United States' constitutionally-mandated separation of church and state. Woody Guthrie wrote the song " This Land Is Your Land" as a response to "God Bless America".