[Maria S]

I don't know if the story is true or not; don't really care, either. What I DO care about is how The National Anthem is sung! Makes me furious to hear it sung "soul" style, like a luuuuv song (you know, the slow, sexy stuff), or any OTHER way that's "interpretative". Just give me a good Marine band to play/sing it and everyone else sit down and SHUT UP!

[noutopia]

Yeah I hate that crap too.

[jejones]

Yes. Singers who call attention to themselves by drowning the National Anthem in endless gratuitous melismata induce projectile vomiting on my part.

I will say, though, that there's one "interpretation" that always moved me to tears. Channel 4 in OKC, at the time WKY-TV, some years back played a version of the Anthem at sign off with images of the history of our country displayed as the song was played. They went through it twice, and on the second verse, they altered the usual chord progression--as the altered chords played, images were displayed of Teapot Dome, Watergate, and the like, returning to triumphant images and the normal chords for the close.

Let's see if I can remember the changes, which occurred in the section between the "rockets' red glare" and "that our flag was still there"...I'll use first verse lyrics and presume the key of Bb.

And the rockets' red glare
        Bb           Gm7
The bombs bursting in air
          Cm          AbM7
Gave proof through the night
     Gm                Dm  F
That our flag was still there
         Bb   Gm  C7    F