God Bless America

About God Bless America

"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song originally written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938, as sung by Kate Smith (becoming her signature song). It is sometimes considered an unofficial national anthem of the United States. The song served as the inspiration for another anthem, Woodie Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", which was written in response to it.

"God Bless America" is similar in format and lyrics to many other contemporary national anthems. It 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. "God Bless America" takes the form of a prayer (intro lyrics "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for God's blessing and peace for the nation ("...stand beside her and guide her through the night...").

Berlin originally wrote the song in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, but decided that it did not fit in a revue 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...", as well as "Stand beside her and guide her, to the right with the light from above."