Why do I cry when I hear the National Anthem???

[fadedrose]

All the stupid stuff wrong with this country, but the tears just start runnin when they present the Colors...

[eleny]

1. Funny you should mention this

I was doing a little bit of blubbering myself. Had to grab a tissue. :hi:

[tularetom]

2. Because you're old enough to remember what the country was like

before it got fucked up by corporate toadies and religious fanatics.

And you fear that it will never be like that again. At least in your lifetime. Or your kids.

That's how I feel anyway. Nostalgic I guess.

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. I think the same thoughts as you said.

My "feeling" is more like mourning, tho.
Like watching a loved one slowly die of cancer. Hope one day, fear the next, but the resignation does not come for a long long time, and the acceptance is further behind that.

I really really tear up when I hear "America the Beautiful"...a much better "anthem" IMHO.

[ZombieHorde]

3. What sort of thoughts cross your mind when you hear our Anthem (I am assuming your American) nt

[fadedrose]

4. It's always more difficult when the servicemen do the Anthem..

I think of all who serve, died, will die, and because of them we have elections. We're not perfect, but it shows we're still trying..

[ZombieHorde]

7. Do you think that may be the answer to your OP? nt

[HopeOverFear]

5. I get teary when they play Hail To The Chief

[Happyhippychick]

6. Because we finally have our country back. n/t

[bigwillq]

8. Things affect people differently.

I don't cry at it, but I hear it so often....from watching sports and covering sports. I've heard some really good renditions and some really bad ones (mainly from 14-year old high schoolers). Most times, I just want the game to start.

[rurallib]

9. I will get stoned for this

but to me it is just a lousy song that glorifies war.

[Captain Hilts]

15. Hmmm...now, where's that rock....nt

[iamthebandfanman]

17. nah

i can understand both points of view to be honest...


i remember in school i was never a big fan of having to say the pledge of allegiance, i remember forming the opinion around 12 that it was violating my rights and was kinda creepy in all seriousness...

the anthem tho, ive always respected and been moved by it.

[LostinVA]

24. yup

[jwirr]

10. I think that is exactly the reason we cry - all the stupid stuff that has

gone wrong in this country - the dream is still there but it is damaged. It hurts.

[rasputin1952]

11. I think the National Anthem affects us all to an extent...

For some of us, it reminds us that we are a nation that seeks Human Rights and looks forward to a new and brighter future; others find it militaristic; some find it as a manner of protest, remembering that we were born of protest.

There are times when it really chokes me up, and other times when I wish it would just "end" and the ceremony go on.

It is hard not to feel pride when it is played at the Olympics after a Gold Medal is won. Anyone who saw Whitney Houston sing the Anthem at the Super Bowl XXV cannot say they were not moved, and probably to a great degree. A lot has to do with what is happening at the time.

When bush was inaugurated, I felt like the Anthem let America down, but when President Obama was inaugurated, I felt that the Anthem sounded fantastic!

There is one piece of music that gets to this Vet more than any other...Taps. I have stood at many a grave of my former comrades in arms, my father and stepfather among them...when I hear the lonely strains of Taps coming over the hill, from a distance, I cannot help but shed a tear for those who have manned the ramparts on cold windy nights, on the sands of deserts, on battlefields here at home and in far away lands. To me, it is the loneliest, most beautiful and most personal of our National Musical History.

[Captain Hilts]

16. I've been to several funerals at Arlington. Taps always gets me. Houston's version of the Nat'l

Anthem was more of a Whitney Houston song than the anthem the way she sang it. I didn't really care for it.

I'm a traditionalist - give me Robert Merrill, though I liked Jimi Hendrix also. Go figure.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. B/c of the irony when you think of the reality.

[GeorgeGist]

13. Because you once believed it was true?

[Captain Hilts]

14. I do too. Even before ball games. nt

[Better Believe It]

18. Because it's a horrible song that can't be sung? Is this a quiz question?

It needs to be replaced by "This Land Is Your Land" or something along those lines.

[anonymous171]

19. I usually get angry

Because it reminds me of what our country was and could have become if the economic royalists hadn't screwed us all over after WWII.

[RomanHoliday]

20. For me, the vocals usually gets me more than the song itself.

The anthem is a very difficult song that requires some top-notch vocal pipes to pull off. Therefore they always have someone with a pretty spectacular voice to sing it.

[JerseygirlCT]

33. Unfortunately, not always

In fact, not even often. I've heard far too many cringe-worthy renditions.

And please, folks, it's lovely as it is. Could we quit with all the trills and flourishes? That's not going to make up for veering right off-key.

[BlooInBloo]

34. Here's the best one ever...

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRvVzaQ6i8A

[JerseygirlCT]

36. That's one of the few times

when I thought a less than traditional version really worked. But then again, we were in the hands of a true musician there.

[Phoonzang]

21. I don't know. It's an awful national anthem.

I think we should replace it with Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder or Harder, Better, Faster by Daft Punk.


:P

[RFKHumphreyObama]

27. I'm not American but I think it is absolutely beautiful

Powerful, emotional, passionate, heartfelt. I'd kill for a national anthem like it

[Arkansas Granny]

22. The one that brings tears to my eyes is "America the Beautiful"

especially as sung by Ray Charles.

[Sparkly]

25. I remember when Denyce Graves sang it just after 9/11

at the National Cathedral... That's when I really lost it! :cry:

[Arkansas Granny]

26. I've always thought that it would make a better national anthem than Star Spangled Banner.

It's really a beautiful song. A lot easier to sing, too.

[DRoseDARs]

23. Because, deep in your heart, you know somewhere right now a rightwing couple is fucking to it...

...on top of a US flag and no amount of bleach shot up your nose is going to wash that image from your brain. :evilgrin:

[LostinVA]

28. I don't -- I walk out of the stadium and onto the concourse or wherever if possible

I hate nationalistic trappings like the Anthem and the Pledge. I personally think it has no place in a democratic society. When I am forced to stay away when it's sung (like at my nephew's HS graduation last year), I just stand quietly.

I also think that national anthems shouldn't be played at the Olympics, just the Olympic "anthem."

[Enrique]

29. because you are listening to this cop's version?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdI37HbztWI&feature=related

[tanyev]

31. It affects me when it is played at national observances,

but I don't get why it is played before sporting events. Sports = patriotism? :shrug:

[JerseygirlCT]

32. I don't know - to be honest, I'm usually crying because it's

usually slaughtered by the singer.

[polichick]

35. I like America the Beautiful better, but I think the tears at the anthem are about...

...the hopes and dreams, hard work and love that generations of people have in common.

Just to get you going again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghz4_kikLkE

:patriot: