![]() In answer to those who questioned the sincerity of his lyric and his reference to God, Berlin had this to say: “ ‘God Bless America’ is a patriotic song written so it can be sung and understood by everyone. It received enormous attention in the press and from the public. The response to “God Bless America” was overwhelmingly positive. So, as you will remember, I replaced it with a little thing called 'We’re On Our Way To France.' If the late Ted Collins, who was Kate Smith’s manager, hadn’t come to me in 1938 for a patriotic song to be sung by her on Armistice Day, I’m afraid 'God Bless America' would still be a war song, unpublished and unsung." Seriously, Harry, I told the interviewer the simple facts - that the song was never taken down, that I did let the boys hear it and decided that 350 soldiers in overseas outfits marching down the aisle of the Century Theater going off to war, singing 'God Bless America,' was wrong. ![]() The reaction from the boys was a thunderous silence and that you, as a civilian, were the only one who stood up and saluted. I told him that the one and only time I played and sang it was at a rehearsal where you were present. On October 26, 1971, Berlin wrote to Ruby about “God Bless America” as follows: "I was interviewed a few weeks ago about 'God Bless America,' and one of the questions was, 'Is it true that Harry Ruby helped you keep it away from the public for twenty years?' That came out of left field, but he evidently read it somewhere and, Harry, as an old friend, I defended you. Over the years Berlin and his longtime friend and onetime (1918) musical secretary, songwriter Harry Ruby, frequently exchanged humorous letters. ![]() I underline rewrote because that is a very important part of the story of 'God Bless America.' " I then recalled 'God Bless America' and rewrote it. I remember finishing a chorus of a song called 'Thanks America' which I tore up because it was very bad. On my way back, I tried to write a song that I felt at that time. I was there during Chamberlain’s visit to Hitler and the beginning of the Munich pact. That occasion came after I returned from London in 1938 where I had gone to see the opening of Alexander’s Ragtime Band, the picture. Of course, I always had it in back of my mind to use someday on the right occasion. Having that finale in mind, it seemed painting the lily to have soldiers sing 'God Bless America' in that situation, so I didn’t use it. As I remember, the song they sang was 'In the Y.M.C.A.' as the curtain came down. It was a very touching and emotional scene. The finale - the boys were alerted in the scene before that they were going overseas, and in overseas outfits, including helmets, they marched through the Theater, went out to the street and backstage where they boarded a transport, and as the lights lowered, the transport, on wheel, slowly moved off stage. As you may remember, the show opened on August 19th at the Old Century Theater. Berlin described how he wrote “God Bless America” in a letter of July 19, 1954, to Abel Green, editor of Variety: "I wrote 'God Bless America' at Camp Upton in 1918 to be the finale of Yip, Yip, Yaphank.
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