The Star Mangled Banner

I doubt that there is another song more abused then our national anthem. The off key singing of the sports fan who had one too many at the tailgate party, the celeb whose agent thought it would be a could career move to belt it at a ball game (hello Rosane Barr), the wanna be pop star who is nothing without his auto-tune - all have been guilty of high crimes and treason when it comes to singing "The Star Spangled Banner."

To begin with, I doubt very many consider the meaning of the words. In fact, I know many in the general population don't even know them. Every year I audition high school seniors who hope to be selected to sing the national anthem at graduation. They forget the words, swap phrases, add words, invent new lyrics, sometimes even invent words - and you can't blame it all on nerves. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "o'er the land, and of the free." I would bet that most don't realize that "o'er" is a contraction and not the word "or." Admittedly, the lyrics are not Shakespeare, but I have yet to hear them sung as if the singer had any sense of the meaning, drama and poetry they do contain.

Then there's the range. This presents an understandable challenge for non-singers, but I've heard botched public performances by people who should know better, usually because they didn't consider the pitch of the first note. Singers will usually start too high, and then, midway through, realize that the "rockets" are going to be glaringly out of their range. Their usual solution is to quickly modulate to an arbitrary key (pick a key, any key). Every once in a while some overly optimistic soul will just belt away, painfully bursting vocal cords and ear drums as they screech out those top notes.

Lastly, and perhaps the most egregious sinner of all, is the pop singer who considers the melody a mere framework on which to plaster as many runs, riffs, twists, turns, and other musical mischief as possible. The result sounds something like a musical seizure. Any relation to the original tune is purely coincidental. Sadly, audiences usually think this is a good thing and reward the singer with cheers and applause.

Yes, America is the "land of the free," and we are free to sing our anthem any way we want. Freedom, however, brings with it certain responsibilities. One of these ought to be singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in tune, with stylistic sensitivity, and with thoughtful consideration of the words.