963
“O beautiful for spacious skies … ”
Sing it with me now! This patriotic song, written by Katharine Lee Bates, and later made famous by Ray Charles, has been an American favorite for over 50 years. And we have Colorado to thank.
Originally a poem, it was written by Bates in 1893 atop Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs. At the time, Bates was an English Professor at Wellesley College in Boston, visiting Colorado for a summer school session. The words, which came to her at the peak, capture the extraordinary beauty of our country, which she witnessed during her cross-country trip.
– Margot Calmar, The 100 Companies