Posted on 04/12/2006 11:20:33 AM PDT by Pyro7480
...Given its circumscribed ceremonial function, and the general shortage of non-sports public gatherings these days, "The Star-Spangled Banner" doesn't get around the way it used to.... A recent Harris poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans don't even know the words.....
The enthusiasm of new Americans for the national anthem only underscores the indifference and ignorance of the rest of us. This gap between what the anthem could be and what it is has prompted the National Association for Music Education, a teachers' group, to create The National Anthem Project to try to reinvigorate "The Star-Spangled Banner."
There is, however, another point of view: Some of us feel that the current national anthem is not worth saving....
In "Angels in America," Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, an African-American character named Belize suggests that the difficulty was part of the composer's plan. "The white cracker who wrote the national anthem knew what he was doing," Belize insists. "He set the word 'free' to a note so high nobody can reach it."
Over the years, there have been numerous suggestions for songs that could replace "The Star-Spangled Banner." My suggestion, since I have a weakness for American popular songs, and a sentimental attachment to immigrant success stories, is "God Bless America,"....
There are two obvious objections to "God Bless America," of course: the first two words of the song, "God" and "bless." I'll admit this is a problem, although I feel sure that only the twitchiest atheists would object to the nonsectarian deity that "God Bless America" — and "In God We Trust," for that matter — evokes. The song is literally a prayer, but it's far gentler than one a crazed theocrat might concoct....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The O Sacrum Convivium is not in my short Liber . . . and my choir book is at church. I think it's as long or longer than the "Gloria" -- but it goes at a slower tempo, so that may be why I ALWAYS run out of air somewhere in the middle . . .
Truth be told, I can't still recite them all from memory... the internet was "helpful" in my post...
Is is possible to go to ANY thread on this website without some wise-ass trying to turn it into an immigration thread?
Give it a rest, willya?
Me, too.
Me too!
A recent Harris poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans don't even know the words.
Well, so what! I bet 2/3 of the country couldn't name 3 signers of the Declaration of Independence, or tell you what year the Constitution was passed, or name the Secretary of State, or 5 state capitals, or their 2 Senators, or their House Rep, or 2 Supreme Court justices. Besides, my 6 y.o. almost knows all the words, and loves to sing it. Talk about tears in your eyes!
That said, the Battle Hymn is a great song (even though it was written by an early socialist and the wife of the man who funded John Brown's raid . . . ). When they sang it at Pres. Reagan's funeral, they did the same Peter Wilhousky arrangement that we used to sing in the high school chorus. Best arrangement going . . . sent chills up my spine.
Well, at least the NYT is focusing on the important issues.
The Diver Dave Opinion Page Says the NY Times is Overrated
Yeah. When was the last time they were heard clearly without 'styling' that can't be understood.
I do sometimes get them not quite right (I could have sworn it was "And what of that band, who so vauntingly swore . . . ")
I read Isaac Asimov's essay on the SSB years ago, and took it to heart . . .
A radio station in Detroit, 105.1, has someone, usually a kid call at 7:30 every morning and recite the Pledge of Allegiance then they follow it up with a patriotic song. Usually it's the National Anthem. I get the goosebumps and usually remove my hat and listen well as I'm driving to work.
Watch NASCAR, they never preempt the anthem, although too often the loser "celebrities" they get massacre the song. Last week, Diamond Rio nailed it with a perfect rendition.
They sang it absolutely straight, in four-part harmony that wasn't TOO "barber-shoppy" . . . and it was splendid. Enjoyed listening to it, and the crowd went wild.
I love it, too, but the Abe Lincoln haters would be throwing tomatoes at us every time we sing it.
Okay, I work in a design-conscious field, so I'm oversensitive to these things, but our flag, though I love it, just isn't good design. Too literal, too busy. Sometimes it looks like one of those optical illusion things and seems to vibrate. Not the worst out there, but far from the best. Internationally, I think the Scandinavians take the flag prize, with Britain right behind. Japan is good. China's pretty good. There's something refreshing about Libya's just-plain-green rectangle. Nepal gets extra points for thinking outside the rectangle. Monaco and Poland (mirror images of each other) are good. The tricolor was good when just France had one, but once everyone jumped on that bandwagon they started to blur together. I kinda like Nauru's flag.
Now, I'm not for a second advocating changing it. It's historical now, while the SSB has only been the national anthem since 1931.
What they hate most, is that our anthem actually addresses war and intimates that we're more than willing to engage in it if the need arises.
America the Beautiful is a good song. It just doesn't express what brought us into being like the anthem does. It doesn't address the prices paid and how lucky we are for those sacrifices.
My reaction exactly. I hate it when some idiot is eating popcorn or yapping on a cell phone during the Anthem. My Father said that after WWII if you were in a public place and the National Anthem was played that anyone that did not stand up straight and respect the flag would catch hell from any number of vets. In some cases people would get that butts whipped.
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