Talk:Whitewood, Virginia

"God Bless America"

These rural habitations were the inspiration for the line "from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, Whitewood Farms," from the song "God Bless America", original version. The problem with these lyrics -- and why they were subsequently changed -- is the problem of crass commercialism making its way into what was supposed to be an innocent American patriotic anthem. The owners of the farms commissioned the writing of the song to get the name of their summer getaway in people's minds, especially the upper-middle class of evangelicals (who would enjoy a song about God and America) in order to increase summer business. Most Americans believe the words that end that line are "white with foam" (reinforced by the rhyme on the next line with "home sweet home") but that is merely a recent assurance in an attempt to thwart capitalism.

I am dubious of this uncited statement. American Treasures of the Library of Congress contains this on "God Bless America":

"The original version of "God Bless America" was written by Irving Berlin (1888-1989) during the summer of 1918 at Camp Upton, located in Yaphank, Long Island, for his Ziegfeld-style revue, Yip, Yip, Yaphank. "Make her victorious on land and foam, God Bless America..." ran the original lyric. However, Berlin decided that the solemn tone of "God Bless America" was somewhat out of keeping with the more comedic elements of the show and the song was laid aside." (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm019.html)

The wording of the Wikipedia article's claim is reminiscent of parody in the style of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. --Oddharmonic 00:46, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It only took me a year, but I haven't been able to find any mention of this story anywhere, so I removed it and expanded the article a bit. SheepNotGoats (Talk) 18:11, 7 April 2009 (UTC)