National Anthem Rant

[Pappy]

RANT ON

I know our National Anthem is difficult to sing, mainly because of the high note stretch near the end. ("In the land of the free") It torques my jaw when performers and their own 'artistic touches'.

Last nights performance was an example. I was thinking that it was one of the best perfomances I had heard until the end when the she had to personalize the song with a lot of notes/vocal inflections that were never in the original music.

This is not, by any means, limited to any one type of musician or performer. One of the most notable/notorious was Hendrix at Woodstock.

A local country station plays a different version at noon each day. Examples range from a fiddle version that is nearly as distorted as Hendrix', a harmonized rendition by a male vocal group, to a female singer that I guess was so proud of almost hitting the high note she added the word "Yeah" before the last line.

I won't even go into what Rosanne did when she asked to be allowed to sing it in San Diego. Suffice to say I have yet to watch another performance by her of any kind since.

This is our National Athem. If you are going to perform it, do both the words and the music as it was written. If you can't, or won't, then don't!

RANT OFF

[Knottscott]

The "vocal acrobatics" wears thin pretty quickly on me as well. It drives me nuts when the singer just starts to improvise beyond recognition of the song, but I don't mind "unique" approaches depending on what they do and where.

Here's a rendition that you may have heard, but it's one of my all time favorites that brings a tear to my eye.

[docrowan]

I don't like vocal acrobatics to start with, it's doubly annoying to me when it comes to our national anthem. I don't care what instrument is used to play it as long as it is done with respect and enthusiasm.

Incidently, I acted and sang in a fourth of July play a couple of years ago that included a number of patriotic and military songs in addition to the anthem. It was very well received and the audience sang the anthem with us during each performance.

[rcp612]

RANT ON
This is our National Athem. If you are going to perform it, do both the words and the music as it was written. If you can't, or won't, then don't!
RANT OFF

AMEN to that !!!!

[germdoc]

The tune is based on an old colonial drinking song, so maybe you need to have a few pints under your belt to be able to sing it properly...

[Uncle Cracker]

Here's a rendition that you may have heard, but it's one of my all time favorites that brings a tear to my eye.

Amen. I have to believe that's what angels sound like...

[cabinetman]

RANT ON

One of the most notable/notorious was Hendrix at Woodstock.

This is our National Athem. If you are going to perform it, do both the words and the music as it was written. If you can't, or won't, then don't!

RANT OFF

I agree with you 101%. IMO, Hendrix should have been arrested. That was such a slam. Made me sick. Whoever auditioned his version should have also been arrested. Differentiates the patriots from the idiots.
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[crokett]

I don't mind a little improvisation so long as the tune is still recognizable. This reminds me of a quote I heard somewhere: "Americans aren't quitters. We keep trying to sing the high notes to 'The Star Spangled Banner'."

[messmaker]

I do love the Texas Cuties version. I seldom think that anyone nails it but I remember a few others. Whitney,of course.She may be the one to beat. A serviceman(A Marine officer, I believe) really did it well at an NFL playoff game about ten years ago and last but not least Glen Cambell. I only remember seeing him do it once but he did it very well.

[Kristofor]

Man, I guess I'm in the idiot camp... Wouldn't be the first time, and probably not the last either

I don't like shuba-dee-boping added to the song when it's sung, but I actually like the Jimmy Hendrix version.

Of couse as far as national anthem's go I'm not really a huge fan (musically) of ours, so my judgement's probably questionable... I think the message and symbolism are great. I think the outcome and attitude of the defence of Ft. McHenry was critical to our nation coming 3 weeks after the White House was burned by the pesky Brits. That said, as a song, it just feels clunky to me. /ducks

[jackellis]

Not necessarily for singing but someone wrote a slightly different version of the national anthem melody for the opening of Disney world 36 years ago. I was there, playing in a marching band composed of high school kids from all over Florida. It would be a bear to sing but the thing I remember most is that the last two notes are higher rather than lower. Much more inspiring version IMHO. I've heard it since then on a couple of occasions.

[shoottx]

Not being the least bit musically talented. The best I can do is play the stereo. It is my understanding Oh Canada is much harder to sing.

[430752]

Huh?

Look, i don't paricularly like the "vocally enchanced" versions myself, but how unamerican can you get? Land of the free, home of the brave, pursuit of happiness, etc. As long as it is identifiable and not made with disrespect, what's more american than modifying, changing and personalizing anything, even the anthem? Being individuals is what makes us, us. Challenging convenstions and going your own way is what makes us, us. If you want to have rote and ridgid adherence to a government dictated set of rules without opportunity for individuality, mother Russia is making a comback across the Pacific.

And Jimmy's version rocks. Others, not so much.

[Edit: Just went to Wikipedia and discovered no one mentioned above has ever sung the song correctly. It has four stanzas, so we're only singing 25% of the song. We all knew Francis Scott Key wrote it, but we might not have known he never wrote the song per se. He wrote the poem on which the song is based. Some brit wrong the music in terms of a popular drinking song back then, dunno who combined the two. I also didn't know it didn't become our official anthem until 1931, which means that "Hail, Columbia" served as the national anthem (if not officially) for a longer period of time than the Star Spangled Banner has. Who knew?]

[lebomike]

Originally Posted by Pappy
RANT ON
This is our National Athem. If you are going to perform it, do both the words and the music as it was written. If you can't, or won't, then don't!

AMEN , To me it shows disrespect for our country.

[jonmulzer]

I agree with you 101%. IMO, Hendrix should have been arrested. That was such a slam. Made me sick. Whoever auditioned his version should have also been arrested. Differentiates the patriots from the idiots.
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Soooooo, you are for free speech, but not THAT free speech? Free speech as long as it does not offend you?

At the time Hendrix performed the national anthem I think it was an accomplishment for him to perform it in such a way that thousands of young people stood there silently and listened and then cheered at the end. No matter how it was performed. In that day and age, as long as he did not intersperse it with the Vietnamese national anthem I do not see it as offensive.