I thought it already was.
It’s “O beautiful for spacious skies,”
In other words - it’s talking about the ways the country is beautiful. Skies, pretty. Grain, pretty. Mountains, pretty. Plain, pretty. Whole country, just beautiful.
My favorite is the final verse - dreaming about seeing “thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears.” It makes me cry.
Since this is the Straight Dope, you must be familiar with the origins of the melody of the “Star Spangled Banner” right?
Yep, originally a drinking song and written by a British citizen. Not exactly the 150% American tune everyone seems to think it is.
Also, I think Francis Scott Key’s lyrics are horrendous in trying to match up to the tune. A lot of words have to be squeezed or stretched to make it fit the melody.
Re: copyright status of This Land is Your Land
In 2004, the publisher of said song sued JibJab Media over an online cartoon satirizing the election to the tune of the song. The Electronic Freedom Foundation discovered a 1945 self-published songbook by Woody Guthrie which contained the song. Since Guthrie failed to renew the copyright on this songbook in 1973*, the song is in the public domain. (However, Guthrie eventually modified the lyrics, so that version is probably still copyrighted. The original 1945 version appears in a PDF file which is linked to in the link above).
*Until 1976, copyrights lasted for 28 years, followed by an optional additional 28 years at the choice of the copyright holder. Copyrights now last for 70 years after the death of the original author (for works published by an individual), or 95 years from date of first publication (for works for hire).
As for the anthem, I have no qualms with the current one, but if it were to be changed, I would suggest The Stars and Stripes Forever. (Yes, it has lyrics- Sousa wrote them himself). But not the verse part, just the chorus. The verse is a little bit America uber alles, claiming the American flag is the best ever for the best country ever, but the chorus describes the flag as a symbol of American pride:
Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May she wave as our standard forever.
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
That their fathers, with mighty endeavor,
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their right and by their might it waves forever!
While not everyone could relate precisely what British drinking song supplied the tune for “The Star-Spangled Banner”, I think it’s common knowledge by now that the tune did indeed come from an one.
I like the melody. I like the lyrics. It’s a perfectly cromulent anthem. Only pacifists & Commies want to change it. So there! 
Otherwise, I’d go for “America the Beautiful” BECAUSE of all the offensive God-references on one hand AND the partnership choice of the lady who authored it on the other.
Why not go with Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory? 
Or maybe write a completely new one instead? In this case, I hope they’ll follow Terry Pratchett’s advice and include a second verse that goes:
Ner ner ner ner ner ner ner ner!
Ner ner ner ner ner ner ner ner!
Ner ner ner ner ner ner ner ner!
Ner ner ner ner ner ner ner ner!
But…they’re Canadian!!
New world Man says a lot about Americans.
I dunno, if we HAVE to change it, I vote for either “Yellow Rose of Texas” or “Bohemian Rhapsody”
I mean, comon, it’d be totally worth it to have 80,000 people in a stadium all start headbanging in unison before every football game. 
Would it bother the singing public when they found out that the lyrics to “America the Beautiful” were written by Katharine Lee Bates, a (gasp!) lesbian?
Sorry about repeating info from FriarTed’s post. I was just too excited about the topic. :smack:
You mean the one that sounds a lot like God Save The Queen, and the one whose tune is (or was) the national anthem of 6 other countries? Good choice.
Yeah, but if you can’t be belicose and jingoistic in your anthem, when can you be? But how about “Hail, Columbia”?
Re: OP. No.
In addition to the very good reasons pointed out by the late Isaac Asimov, the tune is fantastic and lifting and memorable. It can be played stirringly by marching bands, orchestras, and even rock musicians. What makes it hard to sing for some gives it a certain drama when played instrumentally.
Of all the possible bad choices for a replacement, using anything set to the tune of “God Save the Queen” is the worst. IOW, I completely agree with Musicat.
I’m partial to “The Maine Stein Song.” If played by a marching band, it would really sound like a national anthem. Easy to sing, too! All it needs are some new lyrics.
Not only that, but just imagine a whole stadium full of people trying to hit those Geddy Lee high notes! :eek:
We should replace it with something that sounds like Kazakhstan’s
My vote is, stick with the Star-Spangled Banner.
Sorry, but purple mountains fruiting all over the plains just doesn’t stir the soul the way that “the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there” does.
Once long ago, before the days when we became accustomed to complaining about our government from a position of complete safety, there was a war. A real war, right here. Brave men stood fast. A line was held. And because of that, a star-spangled banner continues to wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
That deserves to be remembered.
I’ve written a nominee. Sung to the tune of “Shave and a Haircut:”
Pres-i-dent has ve-to
Pow-er
Short, easy to sing, and a civics lesson.
Plus almost anyone could write new verses.