Here’s a musical riddle for America’s 250th anniversary: What patriotic anthem was written as a prayer by a Jewish Broadway composer, made the pop charts five times by three different Catholic artists, and inspired a legendary folk singer to write his own heartfelt ballad about America?

The song is “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin.

The three Catholic artists who had hits with it are Kate Smith, who took the song to No. 10 in 1939, No. 5 in 1940, and No. 23 in 1942; Bing Crosby, whose rendition landed at No. 17 in 1939; and Connie Francis, who climbed to No. 36 with her cover in 1959.

RELATED: Among Her Souvenirs: Connie Francis’ Faith Shaped Her Life and Music

The folk balladeer was Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land Is Your Land” in 1940 as a critical response to Berlin’s song, which he deemed unrealistic and not inclusive of all Americans. He was also tired of hearing the song overplayed on the radio. So, originally, he had more sarcastically named it “God Blessed America for Me.”

While at heart the songs both celebrate a genuine love for our country, they couldn’t be more different. Berlin wrote “God Bless America” in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at the end of World War I. The first verse of the song is a solemn prayer inspired by Psalms 33 and 27.

Berlin, born Israel Baline in the Russian Jewish ghetto of Siberia in 1888, moved to New York’s Lower East Side when his family’s home in Siberia was destroyed by an anti-Jewish mob.

He originally wrote “God Bless America” as part of a revue he was working on called “Yip Yip Yaphank.” From an early age, Berlin loved songwriting and eventually composed stage musicals and film scores, as well as some of the most enduring songs of the 20th century, like “Blue Skies,” “Always,” and his biggest hit, “White Christmas.”

He revised “God Bless America” in 1938 as Adolph Hitler had risen in power and believed it to be a song for peace.

When Smith, a chart-topping pop vocalist at the time, heard “God Bless America,” she performed it on her radio program in 1938 and released it as a single one year later. Smith also performed the song in the patriotic 1943 musical film “This Is the Army,” along with other Berlin compositions.

Even though Crosby was a more popular artist at the time, Smith became identified with the song for decades to come. Smith was a Catholic convert and a devoted parishioner at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Lake Placid, where she often sang.

Berlin was already established writing songs when Woodrow Wilson Guthie, nicknamed Woody, was born to middle-class parents in 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. He wrote some of his most famous folk ballads, protest songs, poems, and children’s songs in Brooklyn, during his time spent living in a small apartment in Coney Island between 1943 and 1952.

The popularity of “God Bless America” did not sit well with Guthrie. He was a traveling folk singer who wrote songs from the heart that focused on America’s less affluent and disenfranchised population. He was a troubadour during the Great Depression, and his 1940 album “Dust Bowl Ballads” reflected the hardships and extreme poverty people endured in the 1930s in the country’s poorest parts.

Guthrie wrote “This Land” in 1940 and borrowed the melody from “Oh, My Loving Brother,” a gospel hymn recorded by the Carter Family as “When the World’s on Fire.” The earliest known recording of “This Land Is Your Land” was in 1944 and is in the Smithsonian archives.

In addition to Connie Francis’ 1959 single of “God Bless America,” the song has been recorded by a multitude of artists, including Celine Dion, Beyoncé, LeAnn Rimes, and Lee Greenwood.

Interestingly, Crosby and Francis recorded both “God Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land,” with the latter also having been recorded by artists including Peter, Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, Jim Croce, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan.

RELATED: From ‘Born to Run’ to ‘The Rising’: Bruce Springsteen’s Spiritual Journey

Guthrie viewed “God Bless America” as apolitical and not focused on less affluent Americans who were struggling to get by. He wanted to impress the notion that this country is for all, and not just those who live in comfort. So, ‘from California to the New York Island … from the mountains to the prairies. …”

In essence, Berlin’s prayer inspired Guthrie to write a hymn to a country they both loved but found different ways of expressing that love.