The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast airs live via TV, radio, and internet stream on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. mountain time. For information on other airtimes, visit “Airing Schedules” at musicandthespokenword.org.

This encore performance of Music & the Spoken Word has been specially selected for airing while the Choir and Orchestra are practicing social distancing. It contains a new Spoken Word delivered by Lloyd Newell.

Music

Conductor: Mack Wilberg
Organists: Brian Mathias and Andrew Unsworth
Announcer: Lloyd Newell

“America the Beautiful”¹
Music: Samuel A. Ward
Lyrics: Katherine Lee Bates
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“The House I Live In”¹
Music: Earl Robinson
Lyrics: Lewis Allan
Arrangement: Michael Davis

“National Emblem March” (organ duet)
Music: Edwin E. Bagley
Arrangement: Robert Cundick

“America, the Dream Goes On”¹
Music: John Williams
Lyrics: Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Arrangement: Michael Davis

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
Music: William Croft
Lyrics: Isaac Watts
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“Battle Hymn of the Republic”^{1, 2}
Music: William Steffe
Lyrics: Julia Ward Howe
Arrangement: Peter J. Wilhousky

1. On the CD Spirit of America and in the CD set Encore Collection.
2. On the CD America's Choir and in the CD set Anniversary Collection.

The Spoken Word

“First in the Hearts of His Countrymen”
Written by Heidi Swinton

According to popular legend, an officer in the Revolutionary War once directed his men to fell some trees and construct a much-needed bridge. As the soldiers struggled mightily with the task, an imposing-looking man rode up and, observing their work, said to the officer, “You don’t have enough men for the job, do you?”

“No,” the officer replied. “We need some help.”

The man, looking down from his saddle, asked, “Why don’t you help your men?”

“Me?” the officer responded in a huff. “Why, I am a corporal!”

The man got down from his horse and worked with the soldiers until the bridge was completed. Then, mounting his horse, he said to the officer, “Corporal, the next time you have a job to put through and too few men to do it you had better send for the Commander-in-Chief, and I will come again.”

The man, so the legend goes, was General George Washington.¹

This remarkable leader left a singular imprint on our nation. His picture is on postage stamps, coins, and dollar bills. His name is on cities, roads, lakes, mountains, and schools all over the country. And a 555-foot monument in his honor stands majestically at the center of the nation’s capital, which also happens to bear the name Washington.

But more important than all of this is the imprint he left on the lives of the people who knew him—and, indirectly, on every American ever since. He was deeply respected for his unique combination of ability and humility. And in turn, he showed deep respect for others—especially those who stood by his side and fought for freedom in perilous conditions. The idea that General Washington would stop to help men build a bridge is perfectly believable because that’s the kind of person he was. The poetic words written for his eulogy in 1799 are just as true today as they were then: he was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”²

1. See William J. Bennett, ed., The Moral Compass: Stories for a Life’s Journey (1995), 657

2. Henry Lee, “Funeral Oration on the Death of General Washington,” 14, see nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/georgewashington/education/materials/Transcript-Funeral.pdf.