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… became the official national anthem of the United States on this date in 1931. You know what that means? For 155 years is was not the official national anthem. For just 78 years it has been. We could change it. It isn’t etched in granite. |
The first (of four) verses:
O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Who wants a national anthem that glorifies war?
And another thing singers, it’s an anthem, not a ballad, not a salsa number, not a rap. It’s an anthem, “a solemn patriotic song officially adopted by a country as an expression of national identity.”
If the purpose is an expression of national identity, then why change it?
Because I don’t see our national identity in the War of 1812 but I do in these words:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Or these words:
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
YouTube – Arlo Guthrie/This Land is Your Land
It seems that most national anthems are about battles, war and/or bloodshed. Ours isn’t as bad as those of France, Vietnam, Hungary, or Mexico, to name but a few.
Maybe they were purposefully chosen that way, to present a certain badass image to the world.
In that case, it would probably be a great PR move for us to change ours something more peaceful. However, I imagine I’m of a political mind to think so…whereas Rush Limbaugh and his ilk would be horrified, simply horrified!
Isn’t it enough that there’s a war on Christmas? Do we need a war on our War anthem too? Oops. I meant national anthem.
What about Jimi Hendrix’s or Jose Feliciano’s versions?
Cheers,Mi3ke
I think when you start looking at defining moments for nations – you will frequently be looking at wars.
Most nations are born in war – part of the birthing process of forcing others to acknowledge your rights.
They are called defining because so frequently one doesn’t know the outcome at the beginning. And things are drastically different afterward.
No one knew if we would survive our initial revolution, if we could defend ourselves from the many countries that threatened us, if we could survive the breach with our other half. Each a defining moment that left us fundamentally changed.
And I might point out, each a success by definition, the victor writes the history.
OK, make the national anthem Yankee Doodle, or The Battle Hymn of the Republic, or Over There, or Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, but not lyrics from the War of 1812 (written actually in 1814), the war when our capital was burned.
There are times when I’m glad you have only seven readers. This is one of them.
I’d hate to have your feelings about the National Anthem become the law of the land.
BTW — This means that I disagree with you. The National Anthem is fixed, Sure there other good, patriotic songs but …
Teen girl #1: Okay. Maybe I’m, like, retarded for not knowing this, but…did you guys know that other countries have national anthems, too?
Teen girl #2: Duh! It’s the same song, in different languages!
–Bay Ridge
Overheard in New York [March 2006]