Nice leg pull, Eli, but why commit to songs that are old, but have no history? Whitney Houston already proved our anthem is true mic drop material! (With other singers it's fun to see if they can hit all the notes.) And it doesn't hurt to remind us that we are fortunate to be living in the land of the free thanks to the brave.
It is odd the that national anthem can be disparaged as both hard to sing and a melody based on a drinking song? How can a drinking song be hard to sing? Just sing it like you mean it.
Yes, our national anthem is harder than most for the average person to sing. The melody spans 1 and a half octaves and includes several intervals that can be a little awkward to sing and stay on pitch. The high note is sung with the word “free”, which is the hardest vowel to sing at the top of one’s vocal range. It was written at a time when most people learned to sing listening to church hymns rather than pop songs on the radio. That said, our national anthem is magnificent and revolutionary. Musically, it is soaring, dynamic and dramatic. Lyrically, it is full of compelling imagery and depicts a scene that serves as a metaphor for the revolutionary origins of our nation. Most importantly, it reminds us of the fragility of our founding principles by ending with a question: does our flag still wave over a nation and citizenry that is free and brave? It’s a critical question that everyone singing it must answer for themselves. Our national anthem is a aspirational hymn that compels the singer, literally and figuratively, to stretch themselves, to aim higher, to grasp at possibilities that may be slightly out of reach.
I don’t envy the French for their national anthem; I envy their love for it. It makes me cringe that so many of my countrymen have so little regard for our own.
I don't want to replace our Anthem, but if it had to be done, I'd go for Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA, a/k/a Proud to be an American, which can make many of us tear up.
Eli I would like you to go listen to Chris Stapleton, Jimmy Hendrix, or Whitney Houston (just a few off the top of my head) perform the Star Spangled Banner then come back and tell us again that we need a new anthem. I can think of nothing more American than the sight of a defiant and triumphant flag being raised after hours of relentless British bombardment, as depicted by the words.
There are just 'too many notes'. If they could just take a few out it would be better, especially that high one that most people don't even try to hit, and you wish those that tried hadn't. Fun read, comments as good as the story.
Eli, artists have discovered their own talent when upping music. Your Marvin and Houston examples brought chills to my bones. I love our country and history is important. Let's not destroy another piece to make you feel good.
Rebuttal from Isaac Asimov:
https://www.flagstoreusa.com/resources/flag-histories/the-star-spangled-banner/
Nice leg pull, Eli, but why commit to songs that are old, but have no history? Whitney Houston already proved our anthem is true mic drop material! (With other singers it's fun to see if they can hit all the notes.) And it doesn't hurt to remind us that we are fortunate to be living in the land of the free thanks to the brave.
I’d like to suggest So What’Cha Want as the new national anthem. https://youtu.be/ru3gH27Fn6E?si=oSVsC4FFAwD7Nz8E
Hard pass on this take. Peddle that shit to USA Today.
It is odd the that national anthem can be disparaged as both hard to sing and a melody based on a drinking song? How can a drinking song be hard to sing? Just sing it like you mean it.
Yes, our national anthem is harder than most for the average person to sing. The melody spans 1 and a half octaves and includes several intervals that can be a little awkward to sing and stay on pitch. The high note is sung with the word “free”, which is the hardest vowel to sing at the top of one’s vocal range. It was written at a time when most people learned to sing listening to church hymns rather than pop songs on the radio. That said, our national anthem is magnificent and revolutionary. Musically, it is soaring, dynamic and dramatic. Lyrically, it is full of compelling imagery and depicts a scene that serves as a metaphor for the revolutionary origins of our nation. Most importantly, it reminds us of the fragility of our founding principles by ending with a question: does our flag still wave over a nation and citizenry that is free and brave? It’s a critical question that everyone singing it must answer for themselves. Our national anthem is a aspirational hymn that compels the singer, literally and figuratively, to stretch themselves, to aim higher, to grasp at possibilities that may be slightly out of reach.
I don’t envy the French for their national anthem; I envy their love for it. It makes me cringe that so many of my countrymen have so little regard for our own.
I hate it. It never really captures who we are and it is barely singable. How about America the Beautiful or something else?
It is great as is. Leave it be.
I don't want to replace our Anthem, but if it had to be done, I'd go for Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA, a/k/a Proud to be an American, which can make many of us tear up.
Eli I would like you to go listen to Chris Stapleton, Jimmy Hendrix, or Whitney Houston (just a few off the top of my head) perform the Star Spangled Banner then come back and tell us again that we need a new anthem. I can think of nothing more American than the sight of a defiant and triumphant flag being raised after hours of relentless British bombardment, as depicted by the words.
Clever pitch! “The Star Spangled Banner” still rocks!
First comment from me on the FP (been with this team before the website) ...Eli, suck an egg. Our anthem is just fine and better than most. Love yoU!
There are just 'too many notes'. If they could just take a few out it would be better, especially that high one that most people don't even try to hit, and you wish those that tried hadn't. Fun read, comments as good as the story.
Eli, artists have discovered their own talent when upping music. Your Marvin and Houston examples brought chills to my bones. I love our country and history is important. Let's not destroy another piece to make you feel good.
I love our national anthem. How old are you?
Eli, you are so wrong and so ill informed.