All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
|
America the Beautiful It's a popular patriotic song played at sporting events and sung by hundreds of different artists. The opening lyrics were inspired by Colorado scenery: O' beautiful, for spacious skies/ For amber waves of grain/ For purple mountain majesties/ Above the fruited plain! In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates, a former English professor at Wellesley College, ascended Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs and looked out at the view. The panorama of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains inspired Bates to write her poem, which became a popular favorite. By 1895, the poem was set to music, and has never left the public consciousness since. |