Ray Charles - America the Beautiful

The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind

James L.Knight Center in Miami,Florida,1999

Composer : Samuel A. Ward , Katharine Lee Bates

Lyrics :

Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, their country loved,
And mercy more than life,

I'm singing about United

This America,sweet America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain devined.

And you know when I was a little boy,
I remember we always sing it like this :

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain,

America,America,
God done shed his grace on thee,
Oh yes He did,He did
He crowned thy good,oh don't you remember?
In a brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.

You know, I wish I had somebody
to help me sing this
America, I love you America, you see,
My God he done shed his grace on thee,
And you oughta love him for it,
He, he, he, he, crowned thy good,
He told me he would, with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea
Oh,yea Jesus, I want to thank you Lord.