God Bless America God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song. "God Bless America" takes the form of a prayer (intro lyrics "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for God's blessing and peace for the nation ("...stand beside her and guide her through the night..."). Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at
God Bless America before Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals on May 19, 1974, and the Flyers won the Cup that day. "God Bless America" was the official campaign song for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940, as well as his Republican opponent, Wendell Willkie. At that time, the song represented cultural and religious tolerance. During a live television broadcast on the evening of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, following addresses by then House and Senate leaders, Speaker Dennis Hastert (Republican) and Tom Daschle (Democrat), members of the United States Congress broke out into an apparently spontaneous verse of "God