America for Me!

America for Me!

lyrics inspired by...

Poem: America for Me!

Year: 1909

Author: Dr. Henry van Dyke (1852-1933)

Notes:

This song was inspired by the poem  America for Me written by American author and educator Dr. Henry van Dyke in 1909 during his return voyage to the United States after a year-long lecture series at the University of Paris.

On November 11, 1918, he wrote a sequel poem titled America's Welcome Home and brings to light a much darker version as the United States' involvement in World War I came to a close:

They bore our country's great word across the rolling sea,
“America swears brotherhood with all the just and free.”
They wrote that word victorious on fields of mortal strife,
And many a valiant lad was proud to seal it with his life.

The original poem is full of light and youthfulness while the Armistice Day sequel feels forced and jaded in comparison. We'll leave the sequel for another songwriter to take up the baton. Add 'America for Me!' to your streaming library - click here.