To sing or not to sing

[Nancyg56]

As someone who took the time to put on a uniform to protect our rights and freedom that song means a great deal to me!!!!!!!!!

I consider myself very lucky.....I came back alive.

Actually, we are all very lucky for your service and sacrifice for us. Thank you very much for your service.

I love to hear the National Anthem, even more so since my nephews are in service to this Country. I wish that when performers sing it at any sporting event that they would try to remember that this performance s not about them. No reason to try to outsing anyone else, no reason to impress any on else. Just sing it. It is a moving piece of music and there is no reason to create a new rendition for every Superbowl. It is fine just the way it is written.

In our area a local radio station plays it every Noontime and has since our first service members went to Iraq and will until every one comes home. I make sure i am tunes to this station whenever I am in the car.

 

[Andy B]

Sick of singing the national anthem???? Are you sick of being free too?

Surely the ability not to have to sing the National Anthem is freedom.

 

[Andy B]

I'm curious...when do you think the anthem should be sung? Not flaming at all - I respect that others have different opinions. I also don't believe that someone's patriotism can be judged by whether they believe the anthem belongs being sung at any given event, although I do think it is incredibly disrespectful not to remove one's hat.

About the only time I ever get to hear it is at sporting events, so if that was dropped I'd just about never hear it sung at all. Personally I love hearing it and wish it was sung more often.

In the Uk the National Anthem would be played at International matches ie when an English, welsh etc or GB team team plays against another country not when teams play within their own leagues.

 

[Jerry@dvcstore]

I say Sing.

 

[antmaril]

I say Sing.

I agree. SING!!

 

[Liberty Belle]

No! I love hearing it. What I like most, though, is when the whole stadium sings it. It makes me tear up every time.

I just wish someone with a nice voice would just sing it the way it's supposed to be sung.

 

[Liberty Belle]

It's over done. Look around you the next time you go to a ball game. Most people don't pay attention. It's over done.what if disney wanted to play it when they opened the parks every morning..i don't think it will go over.

Not at the ball games we go to, thank goodness.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I guess we're bad Americans here. We don't pay attention, only stand grudgingly and don't remove our hats. Doesn't mean we hate our country or what it stands for, just don't think it has to be done at every single event you go to. You can love your country without severely overusing the national anthem.

I think it's a matter of respect, especially for all the veterans who may be in the crowd.

 

[RedPanda]

I personally would like to see singers done away with and let the band play or pipe in the music and have the audience sing the song.

Well, without Key's lyrics, the tune is just a British drinking song! I've always wondered how anyone could carry that tune while drinking, though. I can't sing it at all, and obviously neither can many professional singers.

I do think the national anthem as a tradition before sports games is worth keeping up; I just wish we had an anthem that was a little more manageable for the musically impaired among us. Maybe "America the Beautiful" -- I can at least sing something resembling that tune! And I love the lines "O beautiful for heroes prov'd/In liberating strife,/Who more than self their country loved,/And mercy more than life."

 

[Deb in IA]

I love the song, I love the lyrics, and I love this country.

I like having the anthem before sporting events.

I also love to sing along with the National Anthem, which is another reason I get really irked at people like Christina Aguilera, who decide to make it so that no one else can sing with them.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

KEEP IT!

I love it and I love how it makes me feel everytime I hear it. Now I think they could do without America the Beautiful being added....not sure why they did that, but it's ok. I think Americans should be reminded how wonderful America is by hearing our anthem.

Our drive in plays it every night before showing the movies and has everyone step out of their cars.

My pet peeve is people who don't stand, don't remove their hats, walk and/or talk throughout the whole thing. ETA I also can't stand when people go all fancy on a song and change the melody. Not mad at Christina for messing up the words that was an accident, but why change the tune....thats what caused you to mess up in the first place imo.

 

[shortbun]

I LOVE it!!! I just belt it out no matter how bad it sounds.

 

[eliza61]

No! I love hearing it. What I like most, though, is when the whole stadium sings it. It makes me tear up every time.

I just wish someone with a nice voice would just sing it the way it's supposed to be sung.

But have you listened when an entire stadium sings it. Talk about flubbing up lines. I always love when most of the stadium pretty much knows certain stanza and then everyone really start mumbling the parts they don't know.

I've been to tons of sporting events from baseball to cricket, football to soccer, swim meets to bocci ball tournaments and I've yet to hear the entire thing sung correctly all the way through.

I say keep it but I really can't critize Christina too much (except she should have taken the time to rehearse) when it's routinely flubbed.

 

[lisajl]

Sick of singing it? No. I like it. It's patriotic.

Sick of hearing people butcher it when it's sung? Definitely. It's a beautiful song just the way it is and I wish artists would stop changing it up with their own "artistic" version of the way they think it should be.

What Tink said!

Although it did look like some of the players were like, "Can we get this going?"

 

[sturdypeasantstock]

People should know the words to the National Anthem.

I prefer "America the Beautiful", both in melody and lyrics, to TSSB. Wish that were sung instead.

I'd rather hear a (good) local chorus or children's group sing it than a high-profile singer.

It's patriotic, it takes about 2 minutes, so it should be sung or played and people should either sing along or at least stand there out of respect for our veterans and pay attention during the anthem. Without our veterans, we wouldn't be free to watch or play football or whatever sport.