America the Beautiful

Bates utilizes a repetitive structure to give the song rhythm and to reinforce the themes of the song. Each verse alternates with either “O beautiful for” or “America! America!” This sets up the two distinct verse structures throughout the song. The non-choral verses name one aspect of the country to glorify, and the choral verses call upon God’s grace.

This simple repetitive structure is common for songs. The repetitive structures make the song easy to follow and remember, and they set up an organized structure for the song to give it a pattern.

Bates also uses repetitive sounds to create alliterative lines. In the first verse, she alliterates “spacious skies” and “mountain majesties” (Lines 1, 3). In the first choral verse, she introduces the alliterative “America! America!” (Line 5) that repeats the “a” sound four times in eight syllables, and she also alliterates “sea to shining sea” (Line 8) to repeat the “s” sound three times in five syllables. This sort of alliteration overload amplifies the song’s musical qualities, helping the lines roll off the tongue when sung.

The third verse repeats this technique with the line “Whose stern impassion’d stress” (Line 10). This line repeats the “s” sound five times in six syllables.