Kiwanis Club of Rockville
INSPIRATION and
POSITIVE QUOTE of the DAY
Now in our 59th year of Volunteer Service to our Community
...and still GOING STRONG!
...and still GOING STRONG!
Inspirational Patriotic Songs
"The Star Spangled Banner" consists of four verses. Usually, only the first verse is sung. Occasionally, the fourth verse is also sung.
The Star Spangled Banner
written by Francis Scott Key
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, And where is that band who so vauntingly swore Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out of of their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave'
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(My Country, 'Tis of Thee)
written by Samuel Francis Smith
My country tis of thee, My native country, thee, Let music swell the breeze, Our father's God to, Thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!
You are in our hearts, our prayers and our thoughts.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the heroes involved in the rescue effort,
and we applaud the millions of men and women who have demonstrated
the true compassion and kindness that is the essence of the American spirit.
by Irving Berlin
"While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, God Bless America, From the mountains, to the prairies, God bless America, My home sweet home.
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer."
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.
God Bless America and All Americans Everywhere!
From Sea To Shining Sea...
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original version of "America The Beautiful" in 1893. She wrote the 2nd version in 1904. Her final version was written in 1913 and appears below.
Here is a note from Katharine Lee Bates:
"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse."
by Katharine Lee Bates
O beautiful for spacious skies, O beautiful for pilgrim feet O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife. O beautiful for patriot dream O beautiful for halcyon skies, O beautiful for pilgrims feet, O beautiful for glory-tale O beautiful for patriot dream
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!
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
Who more than self the country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America ! America !
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!