Quotes

  • “This year, with the war clouds of Europe so lately threatening the peace of the entire world, I felt I wanted to do something special – something that would not only be a memorial to our soldiers – but would also emphasize just how much America means to each and every one of us … The song is ‘God Bless America’; the composer, Mr. Irving Berlin. When I first tried it over, I felt, here is a song that will be timeless – it will never die – others will thrill to its beauty long after we are gone. In my humble estimation, this is the greatest song Irving Berlin has ever composed … As I stand before the microphone and sing it with all my heart, I’ll be thinking of our veterans and I’ll be praying with every breath I draw that we shall never have another war…” — KS introducing “God Bless America” on her radio show, Armistice Day, November 11, 1938
  • “I sometimes get that wonderful sympathy between me and the audience, telling me I’ve reached their hearts. And when I do, the thrill is mine.”
  • “My singing is part of me, like my stoutness, or my light hair, or my poor eyesight.”
  • “Middle-aged women have greater stability, they are more loyal, and their capacity for steady work is greater than that of younger women.”
  • “Most of the people who act and sing do so for their own pleasure and that of their friends and family.”
  • “During the presidential primaries of 1940, I received a request from the Democratic National Committee to sing God Bless America before the speeches.”