You’re exactly right.
The anthem should not reflect Top-40 style popularity but an unchanging commitment to “When free mean shall stand”.
Those who say that the song “doesn’t work” and is too “difficult” just don’t get it.
“Those who say that the song ‘doesn’t work’ and is too ‘difficult’ just don’t get it.”
I’m no musicologist, so I can’t explain my feelings very well, but I understand where the critics are coming from. Our national anthem doesn’t have the greatest melody. “God Bless America” and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” are much simpler, and better, in my opinion. I do like the lyrics, though.
I hasten to add that the melody to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” is already another nation’s anthem, so that song’s out of the question. I’d be fine with it if we swapped “God Bless America,” but it’s probably best not to fix what’s not entirely broken.