Should we change our national anthem?

[struggle4progress]

Poll question: Should we change our national anthem?

De Colores
Yankee Doodle
Ab-so-lute-ly not!
The Internationale
America the Beautiful
This Land is Your Land
Lift Every Voice and Sing
My Country Tis of Thy People: You're Dying
Let's Impeach the President

[Kerrytravelers]

1. The writer of America The Beautiful was a lesbian.

I love a lesbian sing along! Wouldn't that be fantastic! The fundies would just die! :evilgrin:

[Jack Rabbit]

3. I only found that out about that last week

. . . in church.

[struggle4progress]

4. Cool! And a socialist wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0007]

22. Can I sing with ya? I'm a lesbian in male body. I'm old but firm.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. This Land is your Land.

Including the commie verses.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. My vote, too.

Was a high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property,
But on the back side it didn't say nothing --
This land was made for you and me!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Apparently Guthrie wrote several hundred verses...

with varying degrees of political activism. I haven't had luck finding many though.

Should be easily adaptable to numerous languages as well.

They've been playing the David Carradine biopic of Guthrie on cable recently. It's a pretty good movie.

[struggle4progress]

7. Geronimo's descendants might refuse to sing along. eom

[TahitiNut]

13. Ditto. Yep. Fersure. Ubetcha.

:thumbsup:

[karlrschneider]

17. My choice too! The "Star Spangled Banner" just SUCKS BIGTIME

what a shitty song...
:-(

[Jack Rabbit]

26. Let's face it. You have to be drunk to sing the Star Spangled Banner

Of, course, that was the orininal idea. See below.

[Ignacio Upton]

5. Keep it

The Star-Spangled Banner conveys America at its finest when it comes under attack and endures.

[xchrom]

15. if only the country did as much as you say the song implys.

[-..__...]

8. What... no "Let The Eagle Soar"?

:sarcasm:

[rucky]

9. Oh Beautiful for Bush's Lies...

For sniffing bad cocaine.
For nuclear catastrophes,
For reasons unexplained.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee.

We'll bravely guard our Visa card,
While wasting energy.


-rucky

[SmokingJacket]

10. I've always preferred America the Beautiful

This Land is Your Land might be the best choice, now, though. Of course, the radical commie stuff near the end might piss some off...

"In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me..."

[jus_the_facts]

12. Keep it what it IS...

...The Star Spangled Banner!! :eyes:

[porphyrian]

14. Why?

Is this another one of those mass-media-mind-cancers I've managed to avoid by NOT watching MSNBCNNSPN? I guess there's a lot of real news they're trying to distract people from with this inane horseshit.

[struggle4progress]

18. A Spanish version has the wingnuts frothing:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2252847&mesg_id=2252847

And I consider the Star Spangled Banner lousy poetry, set to an unsingable boozing tune, so periodically I wonder if there's anybody else out there who wants a different anthem. Currently, about 60% of the people in this poll would change it.

Of course, you are right: it's not a real issue. But I always enjoy it when the wingnuts froth ...

[Jack Rabbit]

23. It's a boozing tune for a reason

British soldiers suppoedly sang "To Anachron in Heaven" as they burned Washington. Actually, it's a drinking song. When sang in a tavern, mugs were raised on the high notes and lowered on the low notes.

[struggle4progress]

27. I suspect it was a drinking game: if you messed up, you took a swig.

[Jack Rabbit]

28. I suspect so, too

Try to down it all on a low note, maybe?

[Retrograde]

35. does the Spanish version have the line

"Their blood will erase their foul footsteps pollution"? OR "Then conquer we must for our cause it is just"? (Why yes, I do know all the verses: doesn't everybody :-)?)

It's so-so poetry for its day, describing a certain battle the poet saw from a distance, and IMHO he may be echoing a bit of the Marseilles. It's also unsingable.

[xchrom]

16. don't care one way or the t'other.

[Llewlladdwr]

19. Really surprised The Internationale hasn't gotten any votes yet.

Where's all the Commies?

[struggle4progress]

20. Perhaps the proper sequence is (1) Revolution (2) National Anthem

rather than the other way round ...

[Squatch]

21. The National Anthem is a song glorifying war.

I have always been a fan of "America, the Beautiful" as a more appropriate song to herald our virtues.

[SaveElmer]

31. It does not glorify War...

In fact it is glorifying the tenaciousness of American soldiers under attack. The song is not about war for wars sake.

Having said that I do prefer "America the Beautiful"...I think it is a better song and more expansive.

[NJ Democrats]

24. Other: God Bless America

[Squatch]

25. Nice song, but what if your gods are a Sycamore tree and a chunk

of granite?

[rucky]

29. Changing my vote to "Lift Every Voice And Sing"

after clicking the link.

[struggle4progress]

34. Yeah, I think it's a pretty good song.

[Warren DeMontague]

30. Naw, lets just use the Hendrix version from now on.

He tore it UP.

[LSdemocrat]

32. Heck no! I like my 19th Century pub songs

[OneBlueSky]

33. "This Land Is Your Land" . . . especially appropriate today since . . .

this land is no longer our land -- it's the corporatocracy's land . . .

[Retrograde]

36. Can't go wrong with Purple Mountains and Amber Waves of Grain

It does have the word God, but we can always substitute the name of the current president: e.g., "George shed his grace on thee" - I'm sure he'd like it. And it's relatively easy to sing.

If I had my choice, though, I'd go with the Grateful Dead's "U.S. Blues": <http://arts.ucsc.edu/GDEAD/AGDL/usblues.html>