Words: Joe Liles
Music: Joe Liles
Arrangement: Joe Liles
Genre: Patriotic
The original America the Beautiful was a song based on a poem written by Katharine Lee Bates. She wrote the song in 1893 on a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was inspired by the view from Pike’s Peak to write the poem. It was published on July 4th, 1895 in The Congregationalist. It was set to music a few months later, also in 1895 by Silas G. Pratt.
Joe Liles wrote and arranged “America the Beautiful Overlay” that the Tidelanders proudly sing in 2002. It features America the Beautiful that is sung by the entire chorus and then part of the chorus continues to sing America the Beautiful while the rest of the chorus sings the overlay as written by Joe Liles.
