去年独立节周末我们去了科罗拉多高原，在海拔14115英尺的Pikes峰顶上，看见了这座1993年修建的纪念碑。100年前的1893年7月22日，《美丽的美利坚》这首歌的词作者Katharine Lee Bates在这里得到灵感，创作了这首著名歌曲。
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates
Oh 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.
(完整歌词见本篇尾部）
美国邮局今年独立节发行一套纪念邮票O Beautiful，这是20张令人惊叹的风景照片, 对应 “America the Beautiful” 的歌词。
独立节当天将在歌词诞生地Colorado Springs举行发布仪式。
以下是邮票以及它们代表的歌词：
第一组 广阔的天空 Spacious skies
加州和内华达州的死亡谷国家公园
华盛顿州Baker-Snoqualmie山脉的三指山
堪萨斯田野的彩虹
北卡州和田纳西州的大烟山国家公园
华盛顿州Baker-Snoqualmie山脉的三指山
第二组 滚滚的麦浪 Waves of grain
威斯康星州的麦田
华盛顿州Palouse Hills犁过的麦田
加州野生动物管理区草原
蒙大拿州的麦田
第三组 巍峨的群山 Mountain majesties
加州优胜美地国家公园
俄勒冈火山湖国家公园
亚利桑那州和犹他州纪念碑谷纳瓦霍部落公园
科罗拉多白河国家森林公园的Maroon Bell顶峰
科罗拉多白河国家森林公园的Maroon Bell顶峰
第四组 丰收的大地 The fruited plain
加州Orinda的日出
加州Pescudero的鸽子点
加州San Luis Obispo县Edna山谷
加州Livermore的风光
第五组 闪光的大海 Sea to shining sea
夏威夷可爱岛Napali海岸野生公园
俄勒冈Samuel H. Boardman风光走廊的孤独牧场海滩
佛罗里达卡纳维拉尔国家海岸
缅因州的贝利岛
俄勒冈Samuel H. Boardman风光走廊的孤独牧场海滩
O Beautiful, a sheet of 20 stamps that feature stunning images that correspond with lyrics to “America the Beautiful,” will be released by the Postal Service this week.
The Postal Service will dedicate the stamps Wednesday, July 4, at a summer symphony in Colorado Springs, CO.
Here’s what the stamps show and the lyrics they represent:
· Spacious skies:
Death Valley National Park (California and Nevada)
Three Fingers Mountain in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (Washington)
A rainbow over a field (Kansas)
Great Smoky National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee)
· Waves of grain:
Three wheat fields (Montana, Washington and Wisconsin)
Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (California)
· Mountain majesties:
Yosemite National Park (California)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (Arizona and Utah)
White River National Forest (Colorado)
· The fruited plain:
A sunrise (California)
Pigeon Point near Pescadero (California)
Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County (California)
Livermore (California)
· Sea to shining sea:
Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park (Hawaii)
Lone Ranch Beach (Oregon)
Canaveral National Seashore (Florida)Bailey Island (Maine)
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates
Oh 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.
Oh beautiful, for pilgrims' feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw;
Confirm thy soul in self control,
thy liberty in law!
Oh 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,
Til all success be nobleness,
and ev'ry gain divine!
Oh beautiful, for patriot's 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!
