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 (charity album) to "God Bless America", as well as both the overtly patriotic "God Bless the USA" and the far different "Blowin' in the Wind". Two live recordings are used, both performances in New York City. The album debuted at number 1 on the "Billboard" 200, selling 181,000 copies in its first week of release. In doing so, it became the first charity album to reach the top since USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in 1985. Dion's title track single also received enough radio airplay to reach number 14 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. The album's release came