We removed the fourth verse of the song "America" from the recent music textbooks.

National Public Radio - Your Turn Discussion Group ^ | August 25, 2003 | Phil Stinson

[StACase]

Phil Stinson - 08:56pm Aug 24, 2003 EDT 458
Carpe Carpium

I'm a teacher and also a member of a national commitee of school textbook consultants. We removed the fourth verse of the song "America" from the recent music textbooks.

The first verse was fine.
"My country, 'tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
of thee I sing..."

The fourth verse says
"Our Father's God, to Thee
Author of liberty, to Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
with feedom's Holy light,
Protect us by Thy might, Our God, our King."

That verse was deemed unsuitable and requiring students to read and sing it a travesty and a clear violation of the separation of church and state. It's "outa" here, as it should be. It's not in the new textbooks. I'm happy and proud to have been a part of that national decision.

[StACase]

You can log into NPR here and let Phil know how much you appreciate his censorship and the Bowdlerizing organization he belongs to. It's nice to see one of them actually step up to the plate and acknowledge exactly what it is they're doing.

The log in at NPR if you haven't done so involves waiting for a confirming E-mail from the site.

[goldstategop]

Apparently the need was felt to appease the ACLU "Thou Shalt Never Mention God In Public" Police.

[hellinahandcart]

That verse was deemed unsuitable and requiring students to read and sing it a travesty

Oh the poor dears. They might actually read something the way the author wrote it.

I've only heard that verse sung in public a few times myself (you usually hear two or three verses at most from that song, unless you're singing it in church), so the implication that students will be forced to sing it if it appears on paper is dishonest. But what these people are doing, pretending that the "offending" verse never existed-- that's the real travesty as far as I'm concerned.

[goldstategop]

Liberals get easily offended at the drop of a hat.

[Ol' Sox]

Eradicating verses = burning books

Deparate attempts by small minds to contain the rest of us. F. U. Phil.

[dawn53]

Well, a big homeschool bump on this issue.

At least the Brits still sing, "God Save the Queen".

[goldstategop]

I'm surprised they can still sing "God Save The Queen" in Canada.

[heleny]

Long may our land be bright, with freedom's Holy light, Protect us by Thy might, Our God, our King."

I thought the last words were "Great God, our King."

Either way, it's too bad that the song verses are censored from print. It would be better to print all the verses, and children could sit quietly during that verse (just like the Pledge of Allegiance used to be handled) in the unlikely event that a teacher would use that verse.

[upchuck]

Thanks for the post. Makes my coffee taste extra bitter at 6:30am. This absolutely sux!!

Hey Phil, you fuc*ed up. You forgot to delete the fourth verse of "The Star Spangled Banner," you know, our National Anthem:

"Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-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!"

[goldstategop]

And liberals would be opposed to schoolchildren singing say, Handel's "Messiah??" Hmmm... lots of God Talk has to be pulled, not just the Ten Commandments to meet the ACLU's exacting approval.

[goldstategop]

The ACLU thinks THAT one is unconstitutional too.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Q: If "Phil" and an ACLU lawyer were both drowning, and you could only save one of them,
would you go to lunch or read the paper?
/sarcasm

[chainsaw]

"Eradicating verses = burning books "


the Nazi's did the same thing before WWII, only they burned the entire book.

[zarf]

I've said it once I'll say it again:

Stick the damn statue in a vat of monkey urine and call it art. Problem solved.

[Congressman Billybob]

Have these cultural vandals also removed the fourth verse from "The Star-Spangled Banner"? That verse contains the first public statement of our national motto, "In God we trust." Can't have young people, especially, exposed to nasty stuff like that, now can we?

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "In the Justices We Trust?" posted on FR, other publication to come.

[tom h]

"The ACLU thinks THAT one is unconstitutional too. "

Most of what the ACLU advocates is partisan; much of what they advocate is unconstitutional. Just keep supporting it's polar opposite, the ACLJ. We'll keep winning more.

[maica]

That verse must cause the ACLUers to have to go for the smelling salts. WOW! How can we survive the curse of having a country founded by men who praised God for their good fortune and success. [/sarcasm]

Francis Scott Key was a lawyer who was watching Baltimore attempt to survive bombardment and invasion by the British. Every Baltimorean had been preparing all summer for the attack. Every Baltimorean was watching the rockets and shells exploding on Fort McHenry.

Who would not thank God for the failure of the British assault? Today's ACLUers, that's who!

[risk]

MY COUNTRY ’TIS OF THEE

Words: Samuel F. Smith, 1832. Music: “America,” Thesaurus Musicus, 1744 (MIDI, score). These words were born because Smith’s friend, Lowell Mason, could not read German. Mason had received several German hymnals, and sent them to Smith, who he knew understood German. In one of them, Smith ran across the tune now used for My Country ’Tis of Thee. Noting that the German words were patriotic in nature: I instantly felt the impulse to write a patriotic hymn of my own, adapted to the tune. Picking up a scrap of waste paper which lay near me, I wrote at once, probably within half an hour, the hymn ‘America’ as it is now known everywhere. The whole hymn stands today as it stood on the bit of waste paper.

My country, ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims’ pride, From every mountainside, Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee, Land of the noble free, Thy name I love; I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills; My heart with rapture thrills, Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze, 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.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee, 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.

[chainsaw]

for the record, here are all four verses of

"MY Country Tis of Thee"

My country tis of 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!

My native country, thee,
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.

Let music swell the breeze,
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.

Our father's God to, Thee,
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!

[goldstategop]

It should really be OUR national anthem. And unlike the Star Bangled Banner, its majestic poetry.