Word: blesse
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...decided that its elevating emotions didn't suit the urgency of the moment and replaced it with a more conventionally rousing finale, "We're on Our Way to France" ("There's not a minute to spare... You bet we wanna be there - Goodbye"). The rejected song was "God Bless America," and when it was composed, in the last months of the War to End All Wars, it had a more martial flavor: "Stand beside her/ And guide her/To the right with a light from above/ Make her victorious on land and foam..." America and her allies would...
...Even in this early form, "God Bless America" had the elements that would eventually make it compelling and enduring. Its long notes virtually force the singer to sing it loud. The powerful bass hand declares that this song is less a toe-tapper than a foot-stomper, suitable for marching in place. It's a short tune divided into four different, attractive musical phrases, none of them repeated; to hear each phrase again, you have to sing the whole thing over. "God Bless America" is thus a recruiting poster, not just for patriotism, but for itself...
...Bless America" never made it to #1; Smith's version went to #10, then #5 in a reissue the following year, when war erupted in Europe. But it quickly became the second National Anthem and, over the decades, has earned millions for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, to whom Berlin assigned all royalties...
...film "This Is the Army" - which uniquely features a future U.S. Senator (George Murphy, as a song-and-dance man and Berlin surrogate) playing the father of a future U.S. President (Ronald Reagan) - gave "God Bless America" an impressive mounting. Smith sings the number over a poignant montage of families anxious over the coming war. Murphy hears the song on the radio and says, "You know, I threw that song out of 'Yip Yip Yaphank' 22 years ago. Sounds better...
...Berlin could twist his lyrics to make fun of himself and others. During the Vietnam War, the Republican composer wrote a new version of his anthem to tweak his left-wing friend, the lyricist E.Y. Harburg: "God bless America,/Land I enjoy,/ No discussions with Russians/ Till they stop sending arms to Hanoi." He also knew that, at the right moment, patriotism could sell songs...