July 14, 2012, is Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday. Like others, I still think his "This Land is Your Land" should be our National Anthem--it's celebratory, uplifting, inclusive, and communal, unlike our current National Anthem, which is difficult for most to sing and militaristic and harsh in content:
Don't get me wrong, I still like our current National Anthem, just like I appreciate hearing "God Bless America" being brought out of mothballs and being sung in the 7th inning of baseball games. But it's not like these things are set in stone and we haven't had other songs that served as our national anthem (from Wikipedia)--
It 's just that "This Land is Your Land" is so positive and participatory. Save the "Star-Spangled Banner" for somber occasions, but give me Woody's classic for the majority of events where our National Anthem is sung. Three versions follow--enjoy.
here's the original w/ Woody (just like I remember singing along with my classmates in Mrs. Rankin's 5th grade classroom back in the day at South Lincoln Elementary):
Steve Earle agrees that it should our National Anthem:
And here's Bruce doing a little talking, then singing, from his Born in the USA tour:
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air . . .Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution . . .No refuge could save the hireling and slave / From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave . . .
Don't get me wrong, I still like our current National Anthem, just like I appreciate hearing "God Bless America" being brought out of mothballs and being sung in the 7th inning of baseball games. But it's not like these things are set in stone and we haven't had other songs that served as our national anthem (from Wikipedia)--
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. "Hail, Columbia" served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody is identical to "God Save the Queen", the British national anthem,[2] also served as a de facto anthem.[3] Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events . . .
It 's just that "This Land is Your Land" is so positive and participatory. Save the "Star-Spangled Banner" for somber occasions, but give me Woody's classic for the majority of events where our National Anthem is sung. Three versions follow--enjoy.
here's the original w/ Woody (just like I remember singing along with my classmates in Mrs. Rankin's 5th grade classroom back in the day at South Lincoln Elementary):
Steve Earle agrees that it should our National Anthem:
And here's Bruce doing a little talking, then singing, from his Born in the USA tour:
No comments:
Post a Comment