Monday, July 04, 2005

"God Bless America" is for sissies

Can I just tell you how much it irritates me that "God Bless America" seems to have become our minor league national anthem--the national anthem for folks who can't quite bring themselves to like "The Star Spangled Banner"? "God Bless America" is for sissies. It's for people who like certainty and ease of singing and easy-to-identify-with but meaningless imagery and any efforts, serious or half-hearted to change our national anthem to it ought to be met with a great deal of laughter. Give me something hard to sing and full of uncertainty. Give me something from the point of view of someone fearful but brave. Give me a song with proof that we can survive terrible times right there in the middle of it. Give me a song that doesn't locate our essence in the blessing or lack thereof of the same Guy who everyone else thinks is on their side. In other words, keep giving me what we've got. We've already got the perfect national anthem, one that implies a great deal about our national essence and nothing about the outward trappings. Seriously, look at this again, and tell me it's not perfect:
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through 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?

4 Comments:

Blogger Peggasus said...

Yes, I've always liked the SSB, even though I can't sing it well. Then again, I can't sing anything well.

I am also partial to America the Beautiful. Most people don't know but the first verse, but the others are quite stirring as well. I love the imagery it evokes.

Every so often there is a push to make that the national anthem. The SSB wasn't declared the officail one until the 30s (?) I believe. But it'll never happen.

7/04/2005 03:46:00 PM  
Blogger bridgett said...

I beg to differ. It's about the silliest national anthem ever. To paraphrase its lyric:
Is the flag still there? It was there when it got dark last night, but then we popped off some rounds and some stuff caught fire-- is the flag still there?

I mean REALLY, people...some guy is too damn lazy to look out the window...

On second thought, maybe this unsingable tribute to intellectual laziness, male privilege, and artillery during a largely forgotten war is a pretty good better capsule description of our national condition...

7/05/2005 12:35:00 PM  
Blogger Aunt B said...

See? It's the national anthem that keeps on giving. Just when you think it couldn't be any more appropriate, it reveals itself at a whole nother level.

7/05/2005 12:43:00 PM  
Blogger Rana said...

Chills.

I hadn't thought of in in quite that way, about fiercely hoping and waiting for dawn all through a dark and perilous night. All too apt, these days. It's a song for survivors, yes.

7/05/2005 01:13:00 PM  

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