America the Beautiful

[Xyun]

O beautiful for spacious skies,
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!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
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!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
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!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem 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!

O beautiful for glory-tale
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!

O beautiful for patriot dream
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!

[Chmee]

Listen to Ray Charles version for best results.

[miir]

O beautiful for spacious lies

Fixed

[Drolgin Steingrinder]

Oh beautiful, for smoggy skies, insecticided grain
For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.
America, America, man sheds his waste on thee
And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea!

[masteen]

You're just jealous of our greyish waves of grain above the polluted plain.

[Skogen]

What exactly was the point of the original post? Is today some special holiday / event take place in history that I forgot about?

[Noysyrump]

Yeh its the aniversery of the day i got married to my ex wife.....

Gee thanks xyun for bringing up that horrible memory

[Sirensa]

Yeh its the aniversery of the day i got married to my ex wife.....

Gee thanks xyun for bringing up that horrible memory

In that case, this "ode to freedom" would be most fitting!

[Niffoni]

It's an absolute atrocity that such a great country can have such a gay flag.

And don't bring MY flag into it! We're only talking about great countries here

[Winnow]

Our flag is cool!

50 states = 50 Stars
13 original colonies = 13 stripes.

What kind of history do other flags have? eh!!1!? On other flags I see Pot leaves, all sorts of crazy stripe patterns, and random colors thrown on a flag.

Actually I'm serious. Do any other countries have cool stories behind their flag origins and patterns? I'd like to hear some of the history.

[Niffoni]

The colors generally ARE the history. I'll look some stuff up this weekend, if only because your question has made me wonder what the history of flags of many nations are.

Oh, and the Republic of Newfoundland flag is the coolest, because Newfie is the only province manly enough to fly pink.

EDIT: To get you started, check out the Azerbaijan flag and its meanings. I chose Azerbaijan because it has a rich culture and fascinating history. Also, it's just fun to say Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, Azarbaijan.

[Noysyrump]

Yeh its the aniversery of the day i got married to my ex wife.....

Gee thanks xyun for bringing up that horrible memory

In that case, this "ode to freedom" would be most fitting!

Aniversary of marriage, not divorce, that as it happened, was memorial day!~ (2001)

ohh... and i was in sebelis with my warrior (Gorr) tearin shit up stealin pulls from some stupid group who moved into the room next to me at chef. was havin a hell of a good time, til i realized my wife was nowhere to be seen!~

[Xouqoa]

The Republic of Ireland's flag is made of three equal-sized rectangles of orange, white, and green (this type of flag is called a tricolor). The flag is twice as wide as it is tall. The green side is by the flagpole. This flag was first used in 1848.

The green color on the flag represents the native people of Ireland (most of whom are Roman Catholic). The orange color represents the British supporters of William of Orange who settled in Northern Ireland in the 17th century (most of whom are Protestant). The white in the center of the flag represents peace between these two groups of people.

[Noysyrump]

[img]http://photos1.blogger.com/img/270/1626 ... %20(2).jpg[/img]


hardcore communism* flags > yours

*note the red star and the bear!

[Kylere]

Ahhh come on now, the Bloody Maple Leaf symbol is teh ownzer!!!!

You know who has a cool flag? Surrender! Now what a wide open unbaised way to view the world, everything blank, a fresh start, possibilities abound! And look the French cannot pick on you, they are the best at using that flag.

[Sirensa]

Oregon Flag for the win!!

The flag of Oregon is the only state flag with different pictures on each side. On the reverse appears a beaver the state animal. Both sides have a field of navy blue with design in gold. The front picture includes a heart shaped shield with an eagle on top, surronded by thirty-three stars. ( The number of states in 1859. ) The scene on the shield shows the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, mountains, forests and a covered wagon. A plow, wheat and pickax represent farming and mining. Of the two ships: The one leaving is a British ship and the one arriving is a United States ship representing trade. The eagle represents the United States. On a banner are the words "The Union" representing support for the United States. Finally the flag is emblazoned with the words "State of Oregon" above the picture and the date of statehood "1859" below.

http://www.50states.com/flag/orflag.htm

[Noysyrump]

uheheh... You said beaver... uhuhuh

[Dregor Thule]

How is this a current event? We have a music forum you know. Someone want to move this?

[Moonwynd]

How is this a current event? We have a music forum you know. Someone want to move this?

Katherine Lee Bates wrote the original America The Beautiful in 1893. She revised it two additional times over the years. It was written as poem, not a song.

Damn Canadians....

[Dregor Thule]

How is this a current event? We have a music forum you know. Someone want to move this?

Katherine Lee Bates wrote the original America The Beautiful in 1893. She revised it two additional times over the years. It was written as poem, not a song.

Damn Canadians....

Fine, literary forum. I'd suggest Retards forum but I know that would never go over well.

[kyoukan]

why isn't america the beautiful the national anthem and not that shitty battle hymn?

[noel]

Because the 'silly battle-hymn' has significant historical importance, and 'America the Beautiful' doesn't.

Francis Scott Key first published his impressions of the Fort McHenry victory as a broadside poem, with a note that it should be sung to the popular British melody "To Anacreon in Heaven." Soon after, Thomas Carr's Baltimore music store published the words and music together under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song gained steadily in popularity in the years before the Civil War. By 1861 it shared with "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail Columbia" the distinction of being played on most patriotic occasions. Nonetheless Congress did not make the song the national anthem until 1931.

Additionally, the song is only the first stanza of the poem. It actually had 4 stanzas.

Complete version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" showing spelling and punctuation from Francis Scott Key's manuscript in the Maryland Historical Society collection.

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
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 - O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or 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.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd 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.

[Winnow]

Our national anthem kicks ass. Yankee Doodle does rock the house though and might be preferred before NBA games.

During times of peace, our current national anthem provides plenty of opportunity for hilarity at sporting events due to singers forgetting the lyrics or not being able to hit the highs and lows of this full vocal range extravaganza!

During times of national challenges...be they conflicts, natural disasters or just a big sporting event, The Star Spangled Banner gives me a feeling of superbia like no other song that's ever vibrated my eardrums. (German beer drinking songs are a close second) The lyrics are better than other national anthems I've heard...which could be because I can't understand wtf is being said when other anthems are played except for the Brits, Aussies and Canucks! Post your country's national anthem lyrics!

[Nick]

The Eggs/Balls of Satan

Half a cup of powdered sugar
One quarter teaspoo salt
One knifetip Turkish hash
Half a pound butter
One teaspoon vanilla-sugar
Half a pound flour
150 g ground nuts
A little extra powdered sugar
... and no eggs

Place in a bowl
Add butter
Add the ground nuts and
Knead the dough


Form eyeball-size pieces from the dough
Roll in the powdered sugar
and say the Magic Words:
"Sim sala bim bamba sala do saladim"

Place on a greased baking pan and
Bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes
...AND NO EGGS

Bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes
...and no eggs.