You Too??
I thought it was just Canadians who can't sing their anthem without flubbing it.
But anyway, what really pisses me off, is wannabe big stars or even genuine big stars singing a national anthem, doesn't matter whose, as if it was a lounge act.
In Spain they call it the "himno" and in Germany, hymne and that's how it should sound. Here's a few sung as they should be:
Would you think some jazzed up sleaze version of the Chilean national anthem would have been appropriate for this occasion? But isn't this just the type of occasion when the singing of a national anthem is most meaningful and deeply felt?
Anyway, I will not post Christina Aguilera's botched version of the Star Spangled Banner. Even if she hadn't botched it, it's a fine national hymn capable of inspiring millions the world over. It should not be given over to those who would treat it as their own personal opportunity to demonstrate that they might be eligible for a few contracts in the neighbourhood sports bar. Nor do I think professional sports events should cheapen their country's anthem just because they can afford some big-name ditz to sing it. /rant
"The Star Spangled Banner has stumped plenty of singers, and a recent Harris Poll found that two-thirds of Americans don't know the lyrics."
But anyway, what really pisses me off, is wannabe big stars or even genuine big stars singing a national anthem, doesn't matter whose, as if it was a lounge act.
In Spain they call it the "himno" and in Germany, hymne and that's how it should sound. Here's a few sung as they should be:
Would you think some jazzed up sleaze version of the Chilean national anthem would have been appropriate for this occasion? But isn't this just the type of occasion when the singing of a national anthem is most meaningful and deeply felt?
Anyway, I will not post Christina Aguilera's botched version of the Star Spangled Banner. Even if she hadn't botched it, it's a fine national hymn capable of inspiring millions the world over. It should not be given over to those who would treat it as their own personal opportunity to demonstrate that they might be eligible for a few contracts in the neighbourhood sports bar. Nor do I think professional sports events should cheapen their country's anthem just because they can afford some big-name ditz to sing it. /rant
Labels: AARRRRRRGGGHHHH, sovereignty, Yanks
posted by Louise at 6:01 pm
11 Comments:
Jimi Hendrix's version is still my fave...
Thanks for posting these, Louise. Some great stuff.
It's just a shame that such a moving song as the Russian national anthem has stood for such monstrous dictatorship and oppression.
Think I'll stick with the Star Spangled Banner, come Hell or high water, as long as God puts breath in my body.
BTW, I happened to come across Anne Murray, one of my very favorite singers, singing this other beautiful Canadian patriotic song. What a beautiful voice and talent that lady has!
Dave, you realize The Maple Leaf Forever is politically incorrect, do you not? It glorifies the British defeat of the French, fer Chris sakes. Fifty lashes for you.
Actually, you could probably say that about Jimi Henrix's version of the Star Spangled Banner, too, but Quebec couldn't figured out a workable angle for working it into the narrative.
I like the sound of the Russian National anthem and I'm glad they kept the old one from the Commie era, cause it sounds so stirring. I'm rather partial to all male choirs, too, which are the prototype of the Eastern European anthem.
Seems that almost everyone who is asked to sing "Jose's Song" feels the need to embellish the damn thing.
But then, some idiot actually asked Roseanne Barr to perform this before a baseball game some years back and quite a few people were permanently deranged.
Wups! My bad! I wasn't aware in the Brave New World of Western Neo-Liberalism that traditional patriotic songs could become "bad".
So, a Canadian singing "The Maple Leaf Forever" would be akin to an American singing "Dixie" in "wickedness"?
Gawd, PC sux! :-(
(BTW, ref. Jimi Hendrix, my historical claim to fame is...drum roll, please...I was at Woodstock. Yup, yours truly in my impetuous youth went to Woodstock with two friends, actually was one of the schmucks who beforehand bought the three-day tickets at $18, and heard Jimi Hendrix's version of the Star Spangled Banner live. ... I also threw away several of the official pre-printed Woodstock souvenir brochures afterwards because they were a bit muddy! I have no idea what they'd be worth today but I'd imagine I could sell them on Ebay for quite a few bucks.)
My historical claim to fame is that Woodstock came and went and I wasn't even aware of it. Talk about back woods.
Did you also know that The Maple Leaf Forever was considered as a possible choice for a new Canadian national anthem many years ago, and that's when objections were raised because the lyrics included mention of General Wolfe's defeat of Marquis de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham.
Can't have that bit of history glorified, now. So yes, it probably is akin to Dixie, which I also think is a great old song.
Do you think we could get away with it, if I sing Dixie and you sing The Maple Leaf Forever. That might be just weird enough to send our respective leftards into a tailspin of (greater) confusion.
Oh, and I think Woodstock tickets WITH MUD ON THEM would be especially valuable. Proof that you actually attended, rather than just pretending you were there. LOL!!
Those were the days.
Here's my personal double historical connection to the Battle of the Plains of Abraham:
First one: I used to live in mid-state Pennsylvania, in Cumberland County, next door to the capital, Harrisburg. In 1759 when the battle was fought, Pennsylvania was of course still one of the British North American Colonies. Some colonial militia units were used to supplement the British Army regular forces in the Quebec campaign. The Cumberland Rifles, a local colonial militia regiment raised from Cumberland County men, was one of these units. They actually fought in the British line in the Battle, as well as elsewhere in Quebec during that campaign. (The Seven Years War, also known by us Yanks as the French and Indian War-some fascinating history there.)
Second one: Also in the British line was part of the regular British Army infantry regiment, the Lancashire Fusiliers. My family ancestry, on my father's side, was English-from the town of Bury in Lancashire, where the Lancashire Fusiliers were for centuries stationed in peacetime.
Small world, eh?!
(Here's a beautiful choir version of The Maple Leaf Forever, sung with the original lyrics...by....hold onto your hat, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. PC be damned! :-)
Thanks for that link to The Maple Leaf Forever. and LOL that it came from the Mormon Choir. Now that's the sort of choir that ought to be pressed into singing national anthems, IMHO. And The Maple Leaf Forever certainly has all the qualities of a national anthem, sans the anti-PC stuff.
I've been thinking about this thread when I'm offline. Way back when I was a wee school girl I remember the school day started with The Lord's Prayer and ended with God Save the Queen. That was before we had an official national anthem.
Those days are gone for good, now. I know for sure The Lord's Prayer is a no-no. And I suspect O Canada is only sung at special school occasions, which is why no-body knows the words anymore. The tune may be played but very few of us can sing the darn thing.
Even part of it was deemed politically incorrect at one time. The line "in all our sons command" was sexist you know. So it was changed to "in all of us command", but more recently, I've noticed the old words have crept back in. And that's a good sign, irrespective of whether or not the lyrics or our national anthem are inclusive or not. I think we're turning back the page on political correctness - THANK GOD!!!
Oh, and in my old, long forgotten school girl days, the British flag was hoisted on the flag pole every day and a picture of the Queen hung prominently above the blackboard.
Damn it, there is nothing wrong with being patriotic. If we're not pure laine brit or frank anymore, it shouldn't make a difference. We should all be loyal Canadians, regardless of our ethnic origins. /rant
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