Of all the songs President Joe Biden might have quoted during his inaugural address on Wednesday, a song that many people know as a Norah Jones track from a Ken Burns documentary might not have been the first guess.
The song, “American Anthem,” was written by songwriter Gene Scheer and was first sung by Denyce Graves in 1998 for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the Smithsonian Institution during the launch of the “Save America’s Treasures” initiative. It was subsequently performed at other ceremonies, was covered by Patti Labelle and sung by Graves at George W. Bush’s 2005 inauguration; its performance today may tie in with Biden’s unity theme.
Jones’ version dates from 2007 and was featured in “The War,” Burns’ documentary about World War II. Written by Gene Scheer,” it’s an outlier in Jones’ extensive catalog, featured on none of her albums and only available on the series’ soundtrack album. According to the album’s notes on Legacy Records’ website, the song was recorded in December 2006 especially for the film, Jones’ piano-and-vocal rendition “became an emotional centerpiece for the documentary.”
Norah Jones said In a statement after the ceremony on Wednesday: “Hearing President Biden share those familiar lyrics was deeply moving. ‘American Anthem’ is a beautiful and meaningful song that resonates with so many people. I was honored to be asked to sing the song, written by Gene Scheer, for Ken Burns’ documentary, ’The War’.”
The song’s lyrics appear in full below.
It was released five years after Jones rose quickly from the New York singer-songwriter scene and burst into the national consciousness with her blockbuster debut album, “Come Away With Me,” which won a whopping eight Grammy Awards in 2003. In the years since, Jones has not replicated that album’s success nor has she really tried to, choosing instead to have a less hit-driven but still strong and consistent career, releasing eight studio albums, with her most recent being “Pick Me Up Off the Floor” in June 2020.
Of “The War,” PvNew wrote in its 2007 review: “A monumental undertaking filled with moments of tremendous poignancy, ‘The War reps Ken Burns’ return to the battlefield, and he comes away with a major victory for PBS, albeit in a production lacking the thrill of discovery and freshness that distinguished its predecessor, ‘The Civil War.’ Methodically documenting World War II’s progression chronologically through the experiences of those in four geographically spaced towns, ‘The War’ captures both the sweeping impact of a conflict that inexorably changed the world and the hardships endured by those who fought the battle at home as well as abroad.”
All we’ve been given
By those who came before
The dream of a nation
Where freedom would endure
The work and prayers
Of centuries
Have brought us to this day
What shall be our legacy?
What will our children say?
Let them say of me
I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings
I received
Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
America
America
I gave my best to you
Each generation from the plains
To distant shore with the gifts
What they were given
Were determined
To leave more
Valiant battles fought together
acts of conscience fought alone
these are the seeds
From which America has grown
Let them say of me
I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings
I received
Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
America
America
I gave my best to you
For those who think
They have nothing to share
Who fear in their hearts
There is no hero there
Know each quiet act
Of dignity is
That which fortifies
The soul of a nation
That never dies
Let them say of me
I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings
I received
Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
America
America
I gave my best to you
