The Lyrics

Katharine Lee Bates, Samuel A. Ward (Public Domain)

Additional lyrics © 2025 Rob Ferguson, Jon Shain, Susan Head

O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
 

But along with all thy beauty
Comes a man who preaches hate
He tries to make us enemies
Will that be our fate?
America! America!
Is this who we are?
Or will we have found our common ground
Before we drift too far?
 

And now this man of confidence
Has lied his way to king
His court gave him immunity
They bow to kiss his ring
America! America!
Have we fallen for a scam?
And can we learn once we get burned

Or will the rule of law be damned?
 

Now floods and deadly heat waves
Threaten life and health
Does Mother Earth mean nothing
To the man who worships wealth?
America! America!
Water, land and air
Are what we need to live and breathe
But do our leaders care?
 

O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain 

For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
Democracy is frail
Will we make the choice to use our voice
Or will “We the People” fail?