Do you ever feel like you miss the boat on something?
That’s me right now.
Last year our family embarked on hymn study for the first time, and now I realize how much we’ve missed it.
How could I forget something so obvious, especially when founding truths can be so simply etched upon our hearts in the midst of our study of America?
So here we are, not even halfway through the school year and I’m making adjustments to our schedule. My hope is that our family will learn about and memorize a handful of hymns of American patriotism (even if that means we need to drop something else to do so). We’ll plan to spend six weeks on each of the following songs over the course of this year.
Note: Script-n-Scribe Americana includes a picture study and copywork for the hymns listed on this page.
If you’d like to join us as we connect a bit of history to a few hymnal songs of worship…
My Country, ‘Tis of Thee
…proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof… Leviticus 25:10
As a student at Andover Seminary in 1831, 23-year-old Samuel Francis Smith found the inspiration for this hymn as he translated the German song “Gott segue Sachsenland,” meaning “God Bless our Saxon Land.” In the span of about half an hour, he penned the words to “America,” as it was then known, on a scrap piece of paper.1
My Country, ‘Tis of Thee on Hymnary.org
My Country ‘Tis of Thee Hymnal Version PDF
My Country ‘Tis of Thee Tin Whistle Tablature
Free Sheet Music in Other Keys
My Country ‘Tis of Thee Music MP3 (with or without Choir) and PDF
The Star-Spangled Banner (all verses)
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
At the request of the President of the United States, attorney Francis Scott Key embarked on a mission to seek the release of a prominent physician who had been taken captive by the British during the War of 1812. While on that mission, he was detained by enemy troops and forced to watch a brutal assault on Fort McHenry. That morning after the 25-hour bombardment, Francis Scott Key scribbled a poem on the back of an envelope and later wrote out a more complete version which was then called, “In Defence of Fort McHenry.” This hymn later became our beloved national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”2
Script-n-Scribe Americana includes a picture study and copywork for this hymn.
The Star-Spangled Banner on Hymnary.org
Star-Spangled Banner Tin Whistle Tablature
Free Sheet Music in Other Keys
Star-Spangled Banner Music MP3 (with or without Choir) and PDF
America the Beautiful
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. Psalm 89:11
Upon her visit to the summit of Pike’s Peak in 1893, Katherine Lee Bates gained the inspiration for the opening lines of the hymn now known as America the Beautiful.3
America the Beautiful on Hymnary.org
America the Beautiful Hymnal Version PDF
America the Beautiful in Key of D (for Tin Whistle, but without finger code)
Free Sheet Music in Other Keys
America the Beautiful MP3 (with or without Choir), PDF, and ASL video
Battle Hymn of the Republic
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30
During the dark days of the Civil War, abolitionist Julia Ward Howe visited a Union Army Camp on the Potomac in Virginia, where she heard soldiers singing a tribute to a man who had been executed for leading an insurrection of slaves at Harper’s Ferry. Improving upon the words, she scrawled the lines of the Battle Hymn of the Republic early the next morning.
After the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, some of America’s most powerful leaders joined together in singing this anthem during the national service of prayer and remembrance at Washington’s National Cathedral. 4
Battle Hymn of the Republic on Hymnary.org
Battle Hymn of the Republic Hymnal Version PDF
Battle Hymn of the Republic Tin Whistle Tablature
Battle Hymn of the Republic with or without Choir MP3 and PDF
1 Morgan, Robert J. Then Sings My Soul. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003. 105
2 ibid. 89
3 ibid. 229
4 ibid. 143