Posted on 06/12/2009 12:34:22 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
In the Age of Karaoke, more people (including me) like to join in the singing when they strike up the national anthem at public occasions. No one can stop you, no matter how embarrassed she might be by your obvious lack of talent. It's always disappointing when you're invited to stand and enjoy some high school glee club or famous opera singer. But chances are that even the opera singer won't get it right.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is notoriously unsingable. A professor of music, Caldwell Titcomb of Brandeis, pointed out years ago in the New Republic that its melody spans nearly two octaves, when most people are good for one octave, max. The first eight lines are one enormous sentence with subordinate clauses, leaving no really good place to take a breath. There are far too many mandatory leaps off the high board (". . . what so PROU-dly we hail . . .").
The melody is lifted from an old English drinking song. The lyrics are all about bombs and war and bloodshed -- and not in a good way. By the penultimate verse, the song has turned really nasty: "No refuge could save the hireling and slave/From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave." In the first verse -- the one we generally sing -- there is only one reference to any value commonly associated with America: "land of the free." By contrast, "home of the brave" is empty bravado. There is nothing in the American myth (let alone reality) to suggest that we are braver than anyone else.
No, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has got to go. The only question is, What should replace it? Here we have an embarrassment of riches. Let's review some of the candidates.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
* My Country 'Tis of thee
* Battle Hymn of the Republic
* America the Beautiful
* God Bless America
* This Land Is Your Land ( Woodie Guthrie )
* Born in the USA ( Bruce Springsteen )
God Bless America is fine with me...plus it would piss off the Libs.
Being from Maryland I proudly stand by “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Uhhh, no!
How about Kumbaya? Of course there is the line ‘kumbaya my Lord’, but ‘Lord’ could be refering to ‘St. Obama’.
I love God Bless America as well. I love it when they sing it in my church.
How about that Barney the purple dinosaur song, “I love you, you love me ...”
It's a pledge to take the first blow and still get up and fight back.
If Kinsley doesn't like my thoughts on the matter I challenge him to a duel ~ pocket knives at 1 meter ~ 1 hand. Cut his guts out!
I’m totally surprised that Kinsley is still alive. He was suffering from acute stupidity the last I heard and thought it would have taken him by now.
Since everything else these days seems to be about the Obamas, in honor of Michelle, I nominate “Baby Got Back”.
Liberal anti-American scum.
What they think or say should be of no interest to loyal Americans.
Karaoke is Japan's revenge for losing the war.
They want to remake this country from the top to the bottom into something very different
No way on Gods earth to the last 2
And regarding the breaths, I arranged this song for chorus and fixed the breathing problem.
Tradition says no.
But, he’s right. Musically, the Star Spangled Banner is a bit of a nightmare. America the Beautiful would be much more singable, though far less martial. I like the suggestion of the Battle Hymn, though it has little to do with America as a country. Plus, the difficulty of the SSB invites wannabe singing idols to ham it up as a way to avoid the wild jumps and leaps the music takes. Something more singable might remove the temptation to “improve” the anthem.
I suggest that song from Mr Rogers Neighborhood.
Its a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
a plus because it is easy to sing
Trash all of them. A new day requires a new song. How about that one in which O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! is chanted over and over?
Great tune if you're a commie/socialist.
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