What does amber waves of grain mean?

Answer 1

Amber is a color. It is a yellow orangish color. And if you have ever seen a grain of weat it is close to that color. The composer of this song is picturing a field of grain waving in the wind!

Answer 2

This is a line from the song "America the Beautiful" describing a wheat field. The image will be immediately obvious if you have ever seen a wheat field. Ripe wheat is a golden colour, like amber. When the wind blows across it, it ripples like waves.

Answer 3

It is the description that Katharine Bates gave the wheat fields of the Midwest on her trip to Pikes Peak. Her poem was converted to music and became the song we all sing today.

Answer 4

Amber, in this case, is an adjective used to describe the grain. Amber is a color - a kind of gold-ish yellow. Fields usually ripen into an amber color, hence "amber waves of grain".