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Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Anthem-Gate I've been following Spanish-Version-of-the-National-Anthem-Gate. And maybe the opponents of foreign language versions have a point. Maybe the Star Spangled Banner should only be sung in English. But with a cockney accent. Because the disturbing fact is: The tune of our national anthem was taken from a British drinking song. Which always struck me as brilliantly brazen, since Francis Scott Key's lyrics were about a battle against...the British. (Namely, the defense of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812). I've realized that we love to steal our most patriotic things from the Brits. Baseball is an adaptation of the British game Rounders. And Yankee Doodle was originally a British song that mocked the colonists (doodle being a word for 'simpleton.') By the way, you should know that Australia's national anthem -- Advance Australia Fair -- was chosen by public vote in 1977, beating out, among other choices, Waltzing Matilda. Good for the Aussies. Taking democracy to music nearly 20 years befo American Idol |
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