View source for God Bless America

{{short description|1938 American patriotic song by Irving Berlin}}
{{About|the U.S. patriotic song|other uses|God Bless America (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|God Bless the U.S.A.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = God Bless America
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       =
| artist     =
| album      =
| EP         =
| written    = 1918, 1938 (revised)
| published  = 1939 by [[Irving Berlin Inc.]]
| released   = March 3, 1939
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[American patriotic music|Patriotic song]]
| length     =
| label      =
| writer     = [[Irving Berlin]]
| composer   =
| lyricist   =
| producer   =
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| title      =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
| misc       =
}}

{{Infobox song
| name       = God Bless America
| cover      = 
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Connie Francis]]
| album      = 
| B-side     = [[Among My Souvenirs]]
| released   = 1959
| recorded   = 1959
| studio     = 
| genre      = [[American patriotic music|Patriotic song]]
| length     = 2:41
| label      = [[MGM Records|MGM]]
| writer     = [[Irving Berlin]]
| producer   = 
| prev_title = [[Among My Souvenirs]]
| prev_year  = 1959
| next_title = [[Mama (Connie Francis song)|Mama]]
| next_year  = 1960
}}

<!-- Please do not insert the "modern" lyrics for this song! They are still under copyright. -->
"'''God Bless America'''" is an American patriotic song written by [[Irving Berlin]] during [[World War I]] in 1918 and revised by him in the run-up to [[World War II]] in 1938. The later version was recorded by [[Kate Smith]], becoming her [[signature song]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://katesmith.org/gba.html|title=God Bless America and Kate Smith|publisher=katesmith.org}}</ref><ref name="loc.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr11c.html#obj53|title=God Bless America (Memory): American Treasures of the Library of Congress|date=August 2007|publisher=loc.gov}}</ref>

"God Bless America" takes the form of a [[prayer]] (with introductory lyrics noting that "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for [[God]]'s blessing and peace for the nation ("stand beside her and guide her through the night").

==History==
[[Irving Berlin]] wrote the song at the end of [[World War I]] while serving in the U.S. Army at [[Camp Upton]] in [[Yaphank, New York]]. He decided that it did not fit in a [[revue]] called ''[[Yip Yip Yaphank]]'', so he set it aside.<ref>*Collins, Ace. ''Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs''.  HarperResource, 2003, p. 82-83.</ref> The lyrics at that time included the line "Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America..."<ref name="loc.gov"/> as well as "Stand beside her and guide her ''to the right'' with the light from above".<ref name=NPR>[https://www.npr.org/2013/09/02/216877219/from-peace-to-patriotism-the-shifting-identity-of-god-bless-america "From Peace To Patriotism: The Shifting Identity Of 'God Bless America'"].  Interview of Sheryl Kaskowitz by Robert Siegel. [[NPR]]. September 2, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.</ref>

Music critic [[Jody Rosen]] says that a 1906 Jewish dialect novelty song, "When Mose with His Nose Leads the Band," contains a six-note fragment that is "instantly recognizable as the opening strains of 'God Bless America'". He interprets this as an example of Berlin's "habit of [[Interpolation (popular music)|interpolating]] bits of half-remembered songs into his own numbers."<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosen|first=Jody|url=http://idelsohnsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/jewface_booklet.pdf|title=Jewface|publisher=Reboot Stereophonic|date=June 2006}}</ref> Berlin, born Israel Baline, had himself written several Jewish-themed novelty tunes.<ref>{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Alexander|title=Jazz Age Jews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4pR5SQPEYfMC|year=2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-11653-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4pR5SQPEYfMC&pg=PA161 161]}}</ref>

[[File:Kate Smith.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kate Smith]], 1930s]]
In 1938, with the rise of [[Adolf Hitler]], Berlin, who was [[Jew]]ish and had arrived in the U.S. from Russia at the age of five, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song", and it was introduced on an [[Armistice Day]] broadcast in 1938, sung by [[Kate Smith]] on her radio show.<ref name="FHist">[http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/kate.cgi "Flyers History - Kate Smith"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420014311/https://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/kate.cgi |date=April 20, 2019 }}  FlyersHistory.com. Accessed in 2007.</ref> This song has become the performer's calling card. Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, "to the right" might have been considered a call to the political right, so he substituted "through the night" instead. He also provided an introduction that is now rarely heard but which Smith always used: "While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / 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."  (In her first broadcast of the song, Kate Smith sang "that we're far from there" rather than "for a land so fair".)<ref name=NPR/>  This was changed when Berlin published the sheet music in March 1939.<ref name=NPR/>

[[Woody Guthrie]] criticized the song, and in 1940 he wrote "[[This Land Is Your Land]]," originally titled "God Blessed America For Me," as a response.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2000/07/03/1076186/this-land-is-your-land|title=The Story Of Woody Guthrie's 'This Land Is Your Land'|last=Spitzer|first=Nick|date=February 15, 2012|website=NPR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205043641/https://www.npr.org/2000/07/03/1076186/this-land-is-your-land|archive-date=December 5, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref> [[Antisemitism|Anti-Semitic]] groups such as the [[Ku Klux Klan]] also protested against the song due to its authorship by a Jewish immigrant.<ref name=NPR/>

In 1943, Smith's rendition was featured in the patriotic musical film ''[[This is the Army]]'' along with other Berlin songs. The manuscripts in the Library of Congress reveal the evolution of the song from victory to peace. Berlin gave the royalties of the song to The God Bless America Fund for redistribution to [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scouts]] and [[Girl Scouts of the USA|Girl Scouts]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wendell|first1=Bryan|title=How the BSA benefits every time you hear 'God Bless America'|url=http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/02/03/how-the-bsa-benefits-every-time-you-hear-god-bless-america/|work=Bryan on Scouting|access-date=February 3, 2016|date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> Smith performed the song on her two [[NBC]] television series in the 1950s.<ref name=totalt/> "God Bless America" also spawned another of Irving Berlin's tunes, "Heaven Watch The Philippines," during the end of [[World War II]]. The [[Philippines]] was an American possession since 1898 and recently liberated from [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|Japanese occupation]]; Berlin wrote it after he heard Filipinos singing a modified version of the song replacing "America" with "The Philippines."

The song was used early in the [[Civil Rights Movement]] as well as at labor rallies.<ref name=NPR/> During the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]], the song was increasingly used by Christian conservatives in the US to signal their opposition to [[secular liberalism]] and to silence dissenters who were speaking in favor of communism or in [[opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War]].<ref name=Kaskowitz/>

Later, from December 11, 1969,<ref name=FHist/> through the early 1970s, the playing of Smith singing the song before many home games of the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Philadelphia Flyers]] brought it renewed popularity as well as a reputation for being a "good luck charm" to the Flyers<ref name=FHist/> long before it became a staple of nationwide sporting events.<ref name=FHist/> The Flyers brought Smith in to perform live before Game 6 of the [[1974 Stanley Cup Finals]] on May 19, 1974, and the Flyers won the Cup that day.<ref name=FHist/><ref name=totalt>{{cite book |first=Alex |last=McNeil |title=Total Television |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Books |edition=4th |year=1996 |pages=446–447}}</ref>

==Lyrics==
<poem>
While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
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.

God bless America, land that I love.
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above.

From the mountains to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home sweet home,
God bless America, my home sweet home.
</poem>

==Notable public performances==
[[Image:Pentagon Memorial dedication 2008 Crowd.jpg|thumb|Singing "God Bless America" at [[the Pentagon]] [[Pentagon Memorial|memorial]] dedication, September 11, 2008]]
In 1940, "God Bless America" was the official campaign song for both President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] and his Republican opponent, [[Wendell Willkie]]. At that time, the song represented cultural and [[religious tolerance]].<ref name="Kaskowitz">{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/culturebox/2013/07/_god_bless_america_and_republicans_how_the_song_became_an_anthem_of_conservatives.single.html|title="God Bless America" and Republicans: How the song became an anthem of conservatives and the Christian right|last=Kaskowitz|first=Sheryl|date=July 4, 2013|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=July 7, 2013}}</ref>

[[Irving Berlin]] personally performed the song on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' on May 5, 1968, during an episode dedicated to him in honor of his 80th birthday.<ref name="The Ed Sullivan Show">{{cite news |url= https://www.edsullivan.com/irving-berlin-on-the-ed-sullivan-show-god-bless-america/|title=Irving Berlin on The Ed Sullivan Show – God Bless America|date=July 4, 2012|work=[[The Ed Sullivan Show (blog)]]|access-date=March 22, 2022}}</ref>

During a live television broadcast on the evening of the [[September 11 attacks|September 11 terrorist attacks]] in 2001, following addresses by then House and Senate leaders, Speaker [[Dennis Hastert]] (Republican) and [[Tom Daschle]] (Democrat), members of the [[United States Congress]] broke out into an apparently spontaneous verse of "God Bless America" on the steps of the [[United States Capitol|Capitol building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Congress vows unity, reprisals for attacks |first=Jonathan |last=Karl |publisher=CNN |date=September 12, 2001 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/congress.terrorism/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106020356/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/congress.terrorism/ |archive-date=January 6, 2010 }}</ref>

On July 21, 2011, Smith's version of the song was played as [[NASA]]'s final wakeup call for [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']] (STS-135), capping the 30-year [[Space Shuttle]] program.

===Sports events===
====National Hockey League====
"God Bless America" has been performed at home games of the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Philadelphia Flyers]] and those of the [[Ottawa Senators]] in which the visiting team is from the United States. (The NHL requires arenas in both the U.S. and Canada to perform both "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" and "[[O Canada]]," the Canadian national anthem, at games that involve teams from both countries.<ref name="NHL-Anthems">{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Kevin|access-date=October 29, 2008|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2003-03-23-anthem-booing_x.htm|title=NHL Seeks to Stop Booing For a Song|work=[[USA Today]]|date=March 23, 2003}}</ref>)

At some Flyers' home games, especially during big games and the playoffs, their main anthem singer, [[Lauren Hart]], has sung "God Bless America" alternating lyrics with [[Kate Smith]] on a video screen, until 2019. Smith actually appeared in person to sing at select Flyers games, including their [[1974 Stanley Cup Finals|1974 Stanley Cup]] clinching game against the [[Boston Bruins]], to which she received a thunderous ovation from the passionate Philadelphia fans. Before games whenever "God Bless America" is performed until 2019, [[Lou Nolan]], the PA announcer for the Flyers at the [[Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)|Wells Fargo Center]], would say: "Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we ask that you please rise and remove your hats and salute to our flags and welcome the No. 1 ranked anthemist in the NHL, our very own Lauren Hart, as she sings (if the visiting team is from Canada, O Canada, followed by) God Bless America, accompanied by the great Kate Smith."<ref>{{YouTube|id=dShN5wTbF_o|title=May 24th, 2010 Anthems sung by Kate Smith & Lauren Hart Canadiens Vs. Flyers HNiC}}</ref>

At some Senators home games since {{NHL Year|2000}},<ref name=OttawaSenators/> if the visiting team is from the U.S., their main anthem singer, [[Ontario Provincial Police]] Constable [[Lyndon Slewidge]], has sung "God Bless America" and "O Canada."<ref name=OttawaSenators>{{cite news|title=Shots From the Point|date=November 4, 2000|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|page=F3|quote=Renowned anthem singer Lyndon Slewidge also sounds a bit different, with a new background music accompanying his lyrics to O Canada. He will also substitute God Save America for The Star Spangled Banner on selected occasions.}}</ref>  An example of this came during the Senators' home opener during the 2002–03 season, when they were home against the [[New Jersey Devils]].<ref>{{cite AV media|title=New Jersey Devils Hockey: New Jersey Devils at Ottawa Senators|medium=radio|publisher=New Jersey Devils Radio WABC Talk Radio 77 AM (New York)|date=October 10, 2002}}</ref>

During [[Tom Golisano]]'s time as owner of the [[Buffalo Sabres]], the team occasionally substituted "God Bless America" for "The Star-Spangled Banner" during certain special events. When this occurred, [[Ronan Tynan]] was brought in to sing the song while usual anthem singer Doug Allen sang "O Canada."

====Major League Baseball====
At Chicago's [[Wrigley Field]] during the [[Vietnam War]], the song was often played by the organist as part of his postgame playlist while fans filed out of the stadium.<ref>{{cite web| title = Monday's act heroic after 30 years Outfielder recalls protecting country's honor from protesters| publisher = Major League Baseball| date = April 25, 2006| url = http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060424&content_id=1415977&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc| access-date = April 25, 2006| archive-date = February 4, 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070204001843/http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060424&content_id=1415977&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc| url-status = dead}}</ref>

Since the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks]], "God Bless America" is commonly sung during the [[seventh-inning stretch]] in [[Major League Baseball]] games, most often on Sundays,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/15425330/god-bless-america-and-baseball-10-years-later|title="God Bless America" and baseball, 10 years later|date=August 11, 2011|publisher=CBSSports.com}}</ref> [[Opening Day]],<ref name="atlanta.braves.mlb.com">{{cite web|url=http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080325&content_id=2456889&vkey=pr_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl|title=Atlanta Braves celebrate Opening Night at Turner Field on Monday, March 31|work=Atlanta Braves|access-date=June 16, 2012|archive-date=November 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105182432/http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080325&content_id=2456889&vkey=pr_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Memorial Day]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/major-league-baseball-honors-memorial-day-special-caps-rolls-red-carpet-military-gallery-1.1085796?pmSlide=15 | title=MLB Honors Memorial Day|location=New York | work=Daily News}}</ref> [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]], [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], [[Labor Day]], September 11,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110909&content_id=24435892&vkey=09112011|title=Baseball plans day of remembrance for 9/11|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> and most post-season [[Major League Baseball]] games including the World Series. Following the attacks, John Dever, then the Assistant Media Relations Director of the San Diego Padres, suggested the song replace "[[Take Me Out to the Ball Game]]", the more traditional 7th inning anthem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2011-09/remembering-911/story/god-bless-america-and-baseball-10-years-after-911 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203054927/http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2011-09/remembering-911/story/god-bless-america-and-baseball-10-years-after-911 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |title=God Bless America and Baseball 10 Years After 9/11 |work=Sporting News |date=September 2011}}</ref> Major League Baseball quickly followed the Padres lead and instituted it league-wide for the rest of the season. Presently, teams decide individually when to play the song.

The [[New York Yankees]], at [[Yankee Stadium]] home games,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090707&content_id=5741456&vkey=4&oid=36019|title=NY baseball fan settles 'God Bless America' suit|publisher=yesnetwork.com}}</ref> is currently the only Major League club to play "God Bless America" at every game during the seventh-inning stretch. The Yankees' [[YES Network]] televises its performance during all games before going to a commercial. During major games, such as Opening Day, national holidays, playoff contests, or games against the [[Boston Red Sox]] or [[New York Mets]], the Yankees will often have Irish tenor [[Ronan Tynan]] perform the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nesn.com/2010/03/exyankees-god-bless-america-singer-ronan-tynan-moves-to-boston.html|title=Ex-Yankees 'God Bless America' Singer Ronan Tynan Moves to Boston - Boston Red Sox |date=March 6, 2010 |publisher=NESN.com}}</ref>

On August 26, 2008, at a [[Boston Red Sox]] game at Yankee Stadium, a fan who had attempted to leave for the restroom during the playing of the song was restrained and subsequently sent out of the building by [[NYPD]] officers. Part of the resolution of the resulting lawsuit was that the New York Yankees announced that they would no longer restrict the movement of fans during the playing of the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyclu.org/en/press-releases/yankees-settle-god-bless-america-case-wont-restrict-spectators-movements-during-song|title=Yankees Settle 'God Bless America' Case, Won't Restrict Spectators' Movements During Song|date=July 7, 2009|publisher=nyclu.org|access-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref>

On September 15, 2009, three high school teens filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's minor league [[Newark Bears]] for being ejected from [[Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium|Eagles Riverfront Stadium]] over their refusal to stand during the playing of "God Bless America" on June 29, 2009. Before being ejected, they were asked to leave the stadium by Bears president and co-owner Thomas Cetnar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Teens Sue Over Minor League Ejection |publisher=news.aol.com |date=September 15, 2009 |url=http://news.aol.com/article/new-jersey-teens-sue-over-god-bless/669467 |access-date=September 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923042236/http://news.aol.com/article/new-jersey-teens-sue-over-god-bless/669467 |archive-date=September 23, 2009 }}</ref>

====American football====
At the January 1, 1976, [[1976 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]], to honor the start of the [[United States Bicentennial]], [[Kate Smith]] and the [[UCLA Band]] performed "God Bless America" for a national television audience.

During the [[Super Bowl LI halftime show]] a pre-recorded introduction by [[Lady Gaga]], who headlined the show, featured both "God Bless America" and "[[This Land is Your Land]]".

====Indianapolis 500====
The [[Indianapolis 500]] is [[Indianapolis 500 traditions#Other songs|traditionally]] held at the end of May, and "God Bless America" has been sung there since 2003. The song "[[America the Beautiful]]" was sung before, but it was switched to "God Bless America" in the post-9/11 era. The song for many years was performed by [[Florence Henderson]], a native Hoosier, and a friend of the Hulman-George family, the track's owners at the time. The performance, often not televised, immediately precedes the national anthem. Henderson routinely sang the entire song, including the prologue, and in some years sang the chorus a second time.

==Recorded versions==
[[Bing Crosby]] recorded the song on March 22, 1939, for Decca Records.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Bing Crosby Discography|url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/crosby1bDecca.html|website=BING magazine|publisher=International Club Crosby|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref>

The song was recorded by New York City's "singing cop," [[Daniel Rodríguez (tenor)|Daniel Rodríguez]], and charted for one week at No. 99 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] as a single. Before the 2001 versions, the last time "God Bless America" had been a ''Billboard'' chart hit was in 1959 when [[Connie Francis]] reached No. 36 with her version (the B-side of her Top 10 hit "Among My Souvenirs").

On January 20, 2017, [[Jackie Evancho]] released ''Together We Stand'', a disc containing three patriotic songs including "God Bless America".<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/check-out-jackie-evancho-rehearsing-for-her-presidential-inauguration-gig-7662439/ "Check Out Jackie Evancho Rehearsing for Her Presidential Inauguration Gig"], ''Billboard'', January 20, 2017</ref> The song charted at No. 5 on ''Billboard's'' Classical Digital Song sales chart.<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f0=ts_chart_artistname%3AJackie%20Evancho&f1=ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=Jackie%20Evancho Search results: Jackie Evancho], Billboardbiz, accessed February 1, 2017</ref>

The [[Violent Femmes]] recorded "God Bless America" for their 2019 album ''[[Hotel Last Resort]]''.

=== Celine Dion ===
{{Infobox song
| name       = God Bless America
| cover      = 
| alt        =
| type       = promo
| artist     = [[Celine Dion]]
| album      = [[God Bless America (charity album)|God Bless America]]
| released   = {{Start date|2001|9|}}
| recorded   =
| studio     = Studio Piccolo (Montreal, Quebec)<ref>{{cite web | last=Berlin | first=Irving | title=God Bless America: Steyn's Song of the Week | website=SteynOnline | date=2021-09-12 | url=https://www.steynonline.com/10600/god-bless-america | access-date=2025-08-25}}</ref>

| venue      =
| genre      = [[American patriotic music|Patriotic song]]
| length     = 3:47
| label      = [[Epic Records|Epic]]
| writer     = [[Irving Berlin]]
| producer   = [[David Foster]]
| misc       = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|syOEI9y7miM|"God Bless America"}}|type=song}}
}}

On September 21, 2001, following the [[September 11 attacks]], Canadian singer [[Celine Dion]] performed "God Bless America" during the television special ''[[America: A Tribute to Heroes]]''. Shortly afterwards on October 16, 2001 [[Sony Music]] released a benefit album called ''[[God Bless America (charity album)|God Bless America]]'', which featured Dion singing the song. The album debuted at number one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and became the first charity album to reach the top since USA for Africa's ''[[We Are the World (album)|We Are the World]]'' in 1985. Dion's version was released as a promotional single in September 2001<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/2000s/2001/RR-2001-09-28.pdf|title=AC Most Added|work=[[Radio & Records]]|page=120|date=September 28, 2001|access-date=June 18, 2023}}</ref> and received enough radio airplay to reach number 14 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'}}s [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart.<ref name=ac/> The music video also premiered in September 2001.

Dion performed the song also a few times during 2002. In 2003, she performed it at [[Super Bowl XXXVII]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Man, it feels like a great show|date=January 24, 2003|first=Barrett|last=Hooper|newspaper=National Post|page=A3|quote=[[Marc Anthony]] and [[Mary J. Blige]] sang "[[America the Beautiful]]", which was also performed at [[Super Bowl XXXV]] by [[Ray Charles]] and at "[[Super Bowl XI]]" by [[Vicki Carr]]. This is the first time for God Bless America, which Ms. Dion will perform to a prerecorded music track and to backing vocals by a large choir.}}</ref> She also sang it on July 4, 2004, in her ''[[A New Day...]]'' show. "God Bless America" performed by Dion exists in two versions, live and studio. Both included on collections to gather funds for the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their families. The live version was released on ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' CD and DVD on December 4, 2001. The studio version was released on the ''God Bless America'' album. The song was recorded on September 20, 2001, the day before the telethon. It was meant to be a replacement for the performance in the event something happened and Dion could not appear. The song was produced by [[David Foster]].

====Weekly charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2001)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Belgium Airplay ([[Ultratop]] Wallonia)<ref>{{cite book|first=Sam|last=Jaspers|title=Ultratop 1995-2005|publisher=Book & Media Publishing|year=2006|isbn=90-5720-232-8}}</ref>
| 74
|-
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|14|artist=Celine Dion|rowheader=true|access-date=July 5, 2020|refname=ac}}
|-
! scope="row"| US Adult Contemporary (''[[Radio & Records]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/2000s/2001/RR-2001-10-26.pdf|title=AC Top 30|work=Radio & Records|page=73|date=October 26, 2001|access-date=June 18, 2023}}</ref>
| 14
|}

====Year-end charts====
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2001)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Adult Contemporary (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite web|title=2001: The Year in Charts|work=[[Billboard Radio Monitor]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/Billboard-Airplay/2001/BBAM-2001-12-21.pdf|page=55|date=December 21, 2001|access-date=July 5, 2020}}</ref>
| 50
|}

=== LeAnn Rimes ===
{{Infobox song
| name       = God Bless America
| cover      = 
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[LeAnn Rimes]]
| album      = [[You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs]] and [[God Bless America (LeAnn Rimes album)|God Bless America]]
| released   = {{Start date|2001|10|16}}
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[American patriotic music|Patriotic song]]
| length     = 3:05
| label      = [[Curb Records|Curb]]
| writer     = [[Irving Berlin]]
| producer   = Wilbur C. Rimes
| misc       = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|Cj3ZlL887l0|"God Bless America"}}|type=song}}
}}

In 1997, American [[country music]] recording artist [[LeAnn Rimes]] recorded a cover of the song on her second studio album, ''[[You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/You-Light-Up-Life-Inspirational/dp/B000000DHW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336359340&sr=1-1|title=You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs: Leann Rimes: Music|website=Amazon|year=1997|access-date=May 6, 2012}}</ref> After the events of September 11, Rimes rereleased the song on a compilation album by the [[God Bless America (LeAnn Rimes album)|same name]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/God-Bless-America-Leann-Rimes/dp/B00005QXCD/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336359460&sr=1-1|title=God Bless America: Leann Rimes: Music|website=Amazon|access-date=May 6, 2012}}</ref> Rimes also released the song on a [[CD single]]. Two versions were released on October 16, 2001.<ref name="version1">{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Bless-America-Little-Holiday-Heart/dp/B00005QY2F/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1335737834&sr=1-1|title=God Bless America / Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart: Leann Rimes: Music|website=Amazon|access-date=April 29, 2012}}</ref> Both versions contain the song as the [[A-side and B-side|A-side]] track, but the B-side tracks were different. One released to the general public was released with the B-side track, "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart,"<ref name="version1"/> and the other was released to radio with the B-side track of Rimes's rendition of "[[The Star-Spangled Banner|The National Anthem]]."<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=God Bless America/The National Anthem|others=[[LeAnn Rimes]]|year=2001|type=[[Promotional single|Promotional]] [[Compact disc single|CD single]]|publisher=[[Curb Records]]|id=D-1631 PRCD#510032}}</ref> Rimes's version peaked at No. 51 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|Country Songs]] chart on October 27, 2001.<ref>{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=leann rimes|chart=all}}|title=God Bless America - LeAnn Rimes|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=May 6, 2012}}</ref>

====Weekly charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2001)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|51|rowheader=true|artist=LeAnn Rimes}}
|-
!scope="row"| US Top Country Singles Sales (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-11-03.pdf|title=Billboard Top Country Singles Sales|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=16 October 2023}}</ref><br />
| align="center"| 3
|-
|}

==Parodies==
The song has spawned numerous parodies.

* An irreverent version of the lyrics was printed in the book ''The Mad World of [[William Gaines|William M. Gaines]],'' by [[Frank Jacobs]] (1972). [[Mad (magazine)|''Mad'' magazine]]'s veteran art editor, John Putnam, had prepared some copy and sent it to the printers; the word "[[America]]" was [[Syllabification|divided]], with a [[hyphen]], at the end of one line. The copy was returned to Putnam by the [[typesetting]] foreman, who explained that his [[labor union|union]] had a rule forbidding the splitting of that word. Putnam obliged, rewriting the copy and sending it back with this enclosure:

::Don't break "America";
::Land we extol;
::Don't deface it;
::Upper-case it;
::Keep it clean, keep it pure, keep it whole;
::In [[Bodoni]], in [[Futura (typeface)|Futura]],
::In [[Blackletter|Old English]], in [[Kabel (typeface)|Cabell]] [[sic|[sic]]]--
::Don't break "America"--
::Or we'll—raise—hell!{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}

*In "Temporarily Humboldt County" on [[The Firesign Theatre]]'s first album ''[[Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him]]'' (1968), a group of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] men briefly and ironically sing "God bless Vespucciland..." to the tune of "God Bless America" as they fade off into the distance. The reference is a play on the name of Italian explorer [[Amerigo Vespucci]], whose first name is the source for the name "[[The Americas|America]]" for the New World.
* In the title track of their 1969 album ''[[How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All]]'', [[The Firesign Theatre]] briefly break into lines based on the song:  "Ask the postman. Ask the mailman. Ask the milkman...white with foam."
* ''[[God Bless America (film)|God Bless America]]'', a 2011 film written and directed by [[Bobcat Goldthwait]], is a dark comedy that satirizes the present-day American values. The story revolves around a loveless, jobless, possibly terminally ill man and his 16-year-old female companion, who go on a [[killing spree]] against what they consider the stupidest, cruelest, and most repugnant members of American society.

== See also ==

* "[[America the Beautiful]]"
* "[[This Land Is Your Land]]"

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}

;General references
*Collins, Ace. ''Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs''.  HarperResource, 2003, {{ISBN|0060513047}}
*Kashkowitz, Sheryl. ''God Bless America: The Surprising History of an Iconic Song''. Oxford Univ. Press, 2013, {{ISBN|978-0-19-991977-2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr11c.html#obj53 Library of Congress] page with more information, pictures of manuscript, etc.
* {{YouTube|a8QksTKRYS0|Kate Smith sings "God Bless America" (1930s newsreel)}}

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