Too bad the liberal media (The washington Post in my area) trashed our national anthem in an article that put the blame on Francis Scott key, for making the song too difficult to sing, with words that have no meaning.
Here's the article from our pulitzer prize winning paper.
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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It IS a difficult song to sing. Especially for a man. You need a pretty large range to cover an octave and a half. A professional singer should have no problem singing it though. And lyrically you should be able to memorize it. However CA is not the first nor the last one to mess up and forget the words. It doesn't matter how long you have been singing professorially, you are going to mess up here or there. Just like I'm sure many of us sign guys and gals have made mistakes in the past.
Her problem is she tried adding to the difficulty level, perhaps to show off, and perhaps that caused her mess up. Who knows. Normally, she really is a pretty good singer though.
Imagine if these people had to sing the entire anthem? A long time ago I had to memorize and sing the whole song. and I could sing the melody and the bass harmony (the bass part is much easier to sing in my opinion.) I've since forgot most of it. And I guarantee, 99.9% of Americans don't know the entire song, they probably only know the first quarter that we are used to singing.
Don't misunderstand me though. Saying the song is difficult to sing isn't trashing it. I love the song and what it stands for.
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' 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?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand, Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation; Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Yes she made a mistake. I don't care how many times you've been on stage, it was the Super Bowl, and she missed a line. Excuse me, she is human like the rest of us. I'm no CA fan, but I'm not going to criticize her for a goof up, because other than her missed line, I felt she sang it well.
The Dixie Chicks rendition was great, so was Whitney's version. She could really sing back in the day. Personally, I thought Marvin's rendition was an abomination.
When these stars rewrite our anthem, or take a single syllable word and stretch it into an entire paragraph, well I just plain don't enjoy that. Our national anthem sends chills up my spine just the way it was written. I feel Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post couldn't be more off base and I'm just glad I'll never be forced to read any more of her dribble in this wonderful free country of ours.
Edit: Difficult to sing? Maybe not the easiest song out there, but I can hit every note and I'm nowhere near a professional singer.
[ February 08, 2011, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: Dave Sherby ]
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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"Edit: Difficult to sing? Maybe not the easiest song out there, but I can hit every note and I'm nowhere near a professional singer."
But can you do it on cue live in front of cameras, a stadium full of people, no accompaniment, no lyrics and no warm-up?
Regarding Marvin's version, I thought it was ingenious to drop the melody and play it from the rhythm track. He didn't desecrate it, he made it uniquely his. Just my opinion, but I'm also a HUGE fan of Marvin Gaye......
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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quote:Edit: Difficult to sing? Maybe not the easiest song out there, but I can hit every note and I'm nowhere near a professional singer. [/QB]
Then you are blessed with a wide range. I remember learning one time that the average person can only sing one octave if they are lucky. A lot of people can barely handle that. If I sing the National Anthem in the correct key, I have to strain to hit the higher notes, or simply go into falsetto, which I'm betting most adult males need to do in order to hit those higher notes.
But you are right. It isn't the hardest song to sing. And its difficulty or CA flub is no reason to consider changing the anthem in my opinion. The average person doesn't need to be able to sing the song perfectly for it to be a great national anthem.
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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I am with Dave, it is a beautiful song when sung as is without all the extra unnecessary notes. How many nice old songs were ruined by the same method? Bill
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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-------------------- Sam Staffan Mackinaw Art & Sign 721 S. Nokomis St. Mackinaw City, MI dstaffan@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1694 | From: Mackinaw City, MI | Registered: Mar 2004
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Now THAT'S an Anthem!! CHILLS here! When Joe was in the H.S. choir, September 11th happened. It was decided at the next football game that the they would sing the Anthem in 4 part harmony. It was beautiful!! They started in and a hush hit the crowd...more people started to sing along (which isn't always the case) and by the time they got done, most of the crowd & choir were singing their hearts out, in tears including the director who broke down and sobbed! It was probably the most moving rendition I ever heard and I will never forget it. I was SO proud to be an American.
[ February 08, 2011, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Jane Diaz ]
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Sonny; you missed my point. I'm not trashing CA for the flub. Like I said, it was the Super Bowl, biggest stage in the world, most seen Super Bowl in history, in front of 100,000 live people.
I AM critical of ALEXANDRA PETRI for trashing our anthem because it's difficult to sing, and I also disagree that the lyrics are crap.
Joe; I must have a wide range, but I thought I was average.
Sam; OUTSTANDING... best yet.
[ February 08, 2011, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Dave Sherby ]
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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Man we are hearing some great Anthems here! Thanks for all of them! Lovin' it!
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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"Edit: Difficult to sing? Maybe not the easiest song out there, but I can hit every note and I'm nowhere near a professional singer."
I got kicked out of singing class in school because I was so bad. But I can hit every note in the anthem.
"But can you do it on cue live in front of cameras, a stadium full of people, no accompaniment, no lyrics and no warm-up?"
Piece of cake. All you've got to do is know what note to start out on.
"Regarding Marvin's version, I thought it was ingenious to drop the melody and play it from the rhythm track. He didn't desecrate it, he made it uniquely his."
Trying to make it his is exactly what you dont want. The song is not about Marvin. The way to sing such songs was demonstrated by Marian Anderson when she sang "My Country Tis Of Thee" at the Lincoln Memorial. Straight and heartfelt.
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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Wouldn't life be a drag if we all did everything the same way? Of course the song's not about Marvin - nor is it about Whitney, the Dixie Chicks, or Faith Hill with bagpipes. They all put their own spin on it (for better or worse) but Marvin's was certainly as straight and heartfelt as any.....
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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I agree with Sonny. The entire song is about about defending our freedom, and what better way to pay tribute to that then to have the freedom to sign it in our own way. If this song in particular weren't able to evolve over time, it would still just be a poem, there would be no melody, no harmonies.
Singing isn't a science no matter how hard some people try to make it one. It is an art. Us sign makers should be able to appreciate that. Singing is about expressing yourself and performing and feeling the message of the song, and we should be glad that people are able to do so. Otherwise there would be no emotion in the singers voice, no heart, it would be stale.
You say the song needs to be heartfelt, and I agree. But there is no doubt in my mind that Marvin Gaye was feeling it when he sang. Just because some people didn't feel it, doesn't mean that others didn't or he didn't feel every note of it. The crowd in that clip seems to be loving every second of it.
This anthem transcends how any one person sings it. It has always been more about the message then the composition, and if we ever try to force people to sing it just one way, what ever way that may be, it will be the death of the song.
Just my 2 cents.
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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I guess I'm too old. I've always thought of myself as being pretty open minded but this is the National Anthem. I don't think it should be messed with too much. Just where does one draw the line??? I'm kind of split on the Marvin Gaye rendition myself. While it came across very cool...did it go too far? What if Snoop Dog was the one doing it his way? Metallica? Pantera? Triple Six Mafia? Stray too far from the original and you are going to upset somebody. Sorry, but the word way only has one sylable It's the National Anthem for crying out loud...just sing it!
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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Customers, in this case, ticket holders, are supposed to get what they pay for. If you can't put in the time to learn how to do the job correctly, get off the friggin stage. That goes for every occupation, mine included. You want the big bucks? Practice.
[ February 09, 2011, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: Ron Costa ]
-------------------- Ron Costa Sign and Design 28 Ingerson Road Jefferson, NH 0358 Posts: 620 | From: New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2002
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George, I've never been a fan of heavy metal and I absolutely hate rap, but if those guys want to give the anthem a shot, I say go for it. They can't mess it up any worse than Roseanne Barr.
Joe nailed it when he said singing is an art and expressing it should be in one's own individual style - not much different than pinstripers. I bet you can tell who did a bike as soon as you see it.
Jimi Hendrix really turned this debate on its head 30 years ago at Woodstock. The first time I heard his version, it was almost blasphemous. After a few listens, I began to see where he was going and it grew on me. Now, it's become a classic.
Ain't life strange?
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Of course this is a rock version...I have always enjoyed listening to the Russian National Anthem when it was played during the Olympics...I'm glad these guys are our friends now...we both possess enough bombs to destroy the earth many times over...so let's cool it and get along.
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The song is an national anthem, like a church hymn. How would you pop singer fans react to them putting their own take on Handel's Messiah, or any of the great arias in Mozart or Verdi, or maybe doing a syncopated version of Beethoven's Ode to Joy? To put their own personality into it, and to express their freedom, of course.
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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Dennis...I've heard many different versions of the classics...some I think are actually better than the original...but usually I go back to the original as my favorite...Pachabel's Canon in D maybe my all time favorite...I like almost all versions of it except the ones that stick in the bird songs and ocean sounds...I don't need that added distraction from the absolute beauty of the music itself.
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