America The Beautiful

This song has several things going for it that cheer us up a lot, and will no doubt make you happy campers as well. First, it's celebrating its 100th anniversary this year (see the story on page 41), the author of the lyrics, Katherine Lee Bates, is a famous woman (many of you have asked for more things about women), we can show off the horn in our great arrangement (we are featuring the horn in this issue), and it's downright inspirational and patriotic (always a plus!). How's that for reasoning? Add to that the fact that most kids already know the melody and probably most of the lyrics, and you've got instant success on your hands. The second vocal parts are optional as always, so you can use the song with just about any age level. Bring out the flags and prepare to raise a few goosebumps!