Celebrate the U.S.A. / America Additional information for the World Celebrations feature on Celebrate the U.S.A. / America from the May/June 2010 (Volume 10 No. 6) issue of Music Express
Independence Day, commonly called the Fourth of July, is a national holiday commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The holiday is celebrated with parades, picnics, family gatherings, sports, speeches and concerts, culminating with grand displays of fireworks. Patriotic songs are sung, such as “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” “This Land is Your Land,” “America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” American flags are flown. Red white and blue bunting, streamers, balloons and other items decorate many public places. People wear red white and blue, too. You’ve probably heard of a twenty-one- gun salute. Well, imagine a fifty-gun salute! This is actually done on military bases on the Fourth of July. One shot is fired in honor of each state in the union. It is called the “salute to the union.” These festivities were just what John Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, envisioned, as he wrote on July 3, 1776: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. Whoa! The second of July? Well, that’s because on July second they voted on the resolution declaring themselves free. Technically, the United States of America was born then. However, it took until the fourth to finish the final document, and because that document was so widely publicized, the fourth became the date ingrained in everyone’s memory. As easy as gaining independence seemed on paper, real independence did not come easily. The former colonists immediately were forced to form an army to defend their newfound freedom. To lead it, they selected George Washington, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. After he and his men finally won the ensuing war, the thankful citizens wanted him to become king. He refused. Upon hearing this news, King George III, who had been his foe, exclaimed, “If this is true, then Washington is the greatest man on earth.” Eventually Washington was persuaded to accept the voice of the people to become the first President of the brand new United States of America. Two other signers of the Declaration of Independence also later became President—John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. In an amazing coincidence, they both died on the same day (July 4, 1826), the 50th anniversary of that famous document. Not all of the signers became famous. Many lost everything they owned—their homes, lands, families, and even their own lives—in the fight for freedom that began almost as soon as the ink on the Declaration of Independence was dry. They truly acted on the famous motto of their day—“Give me liberty or give me death!” Let’s do all we can to preserve the freedom that these men lived and died to give us, and honor them as we celebrate this Fourth of July. Flag Day commemorates the signing of the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777, officially adopting the stars and stripes to be the design of our new nation’s flag. The resolution simply read, “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” No directions were given for how the stars should be arranged or how many points they should have. Therefore, early flags
Copyright © 2010 by HAL LEONARD CORPORATION International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved The original subscriber of Music Express magazine has permission to reproduce this page for instructional use only. Any other use is strictly prohibited. May/June 2010 – 1 sometimes show a circle of stars, sometimes rows of stars, sometimes stars with six points and sometimes stars with eight points. Do you know now many points the stars have today? How many stars there are? How are they arranged? Next time you look at a flag see if you can notice. The thirteen stripes always remain the same, representing the thirteen original colonies. On the first official flag there were also thirteen stars. When new states were added to the union, stars were added to the flag to represent them. The blue background represents the union. Back then, flags were sewn by hand. One of the most famous seamstresses was Betsy Ross. The flag with the stars in a circle is often called the Betsy Ross Flag.
There were other flags before the stars and stripes design was adopted. You may enjoy looking at these different ones and reading what they symbolized. A favorite of young folks like you is the yellow one with a rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.”
During the Revolutionary War, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and until the Flag Resolution on 1777, the unofficial flag was the Grand Union flag. It had the alternating 13 red and white stripes, but in the place where stars are today there was a red cross representing England and a white cross representing Scotland, both part of the kingdom of Britain, their enemy. No wonder they adopted a resolution to change the design!
Flag Day is usually celebrated by people displaying flags outside their homes, businesses and public places. Commemoration events usually include a flag-raising ceremony, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the “Star-Spangled Banner,” other patriotic music, speeches, and sometimes parades. In conjunction with the observance of Flag Day, you may enjoy singing the “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written by Francis Scott Key. On the fateful night of September 14, 1834, he went aboard a British prisoner-exchange ship to get his friend released. He was shocked to discover that the ship was planning to attack Fort McHenry and that he and his friend would be hostages until the attack was over. Imagine being on an enemy ship and watching your own country and comrades being attacked. That’s what happened to Francis Scott Key. He was gripped with terror. The battle didn’t end until the next morning. Then his heart swelled with joy and relief
May/June 2010 – 2 as he saw the American flag flying over the fort. The sight so inspired him that he began to write the poem of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on the back of a letter he carried in his pocket. He finished it a few days later, and it eventually became the official national anthem of our country. You may also enjoy and listening to John Philip Sousa’s rousing march, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” a favorite of bands and marching bands everywhere. You might even have your own parade with this one! Celebrate America!
About the Song “America the Beautiful” This song is so well-known and important to Americans that it is considered by many to be an unofficial second national anthem. There have even been proposals at the national level to adopt “America the Beautiful” as a national hymn or a national anthem, either in addition to, or in place of, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Two of the reasons are that “America the Beautiful” is 1) easier to sing than “The Star-Spangled Banner” and 2) not tied to war, as is “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
A Little Bit of History The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates after she took a trip across America to the top of Pikes Peak, Colorado in 1893. She was so struck by the beautiful scenes that she saw, that she penned the poem during her trip. Later, in 1910 the poem was published with music written by Samuel A. Ward. Prior to that, it was sung using as many as seventy different tunes, most notably to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne”! Why not have some fun and try singing the lyrics to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne.” You will really appreciate Samuel Ward! Oh, and by the way, Samuel Ward also composed his music in a moment of inspiration while traveling. Have you heard the expression “off the cuff”? Well, Ward was in such a hurry to get his melody written down so that he wouldn’t forget it, that he actually wrote the notes on the cuff of a friend’s shirt!
Insights on some of the lyrics Alabaster—a mineral that light can shine through. In medieval times it was even cut in thin pieces to use for cathedral windows. The term is often used poetically to describe an especially beautiful white. Katharine Lee Bates visited the Chicago Exposition in 1893, where she was impressed with the gleaming White City that was built for the event. Some buildings there were built to be permanent, and many were temporary facades that were made of a mixture of plaster, cement and jute, and then covered with paint. These reflected light and had a beautiful gleam, giving her the idea for “thine alabaster cities gleam.” Purple mountains—The Rocky Mountains appear purple when viewed from a great distance. Amber waves of grain—The wheat fields of Kansas impressed Katharine Lee Bates as she rode on the train through that wide expanse. Fruited plain—her view of the Great Plains from Pikes Peak in Colorado From sea to shining sea—from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean (or vice versa)
Poetry of the Lyrics The poetry is set in quatrains–stanzas of four lines each. Each of the four verses has two quatrains. These are in abcb or abab rhyming form. In abcb form, the second and fourth lines rhyme. In abab form the first third lines also rhyme in addition to lines two and four. Students who are aware of
May/June 2010 – 3 the writings of Nostradamus (b. Dec.14, 1503 - d. July 1, 1566) may find this interesting, as his most famous book Les Propheties consists entirely of rhyming four-line poems grouped into sets of 100. The title of each is simply “Quatrain” followed by its Roman numeral. Of course, many writers and poets and students have used the form, from the Greeks to Shakespeare to the present day. Lyrics Rhyming form of the quatrains 1. O beautiful for spacious skies, a For amber waves of grain, b For purple mountain majesties c Above the fruited plain! b America! America! a God shed His grace on thee, b And crown thy good with brotherhood c From sea to shining sea! b 2. O beautiful for pilgrim feet a Whose stern impassion'd stress b A thoroughfare for freedom beat a Across the wilderness b America! America! a God mend thine ev'ry flaw, b Confirm thy soul in self-control, c Thy liberty in law. b 3. O beautiful for heroes prov'd a In liberating strife, b Who more than self their country loved, c And mercy more than life. b America! America! a May God thy gold refine b Till all success be nobleness, c And ev'ry gain divine. b 4. O beautiful for patriot dream a That sees beyond the years b Thine alabaster cities gleam a Undimmed by human tears. b America! America! a God shed His grace on thee, b And crown thy good with brotherhood c From sea to shining sea. b
Some Other Traditional Patriotic American Music “The Star-Spangled Banner” “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee),” also used in this setting “God Bless America” “This Land Is Your Land “You’re a Grand Old Flag” “Yankee Doodle” (for the North) “Dixie” (for the South) “Stars and Stripes Forever” (instrumental)
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