# NO MORE "Interpretive" Performances of The National Anthem! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493 "2000-08-15T21:25:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/1 "2000-08-15T21:25:39Z")
Today’s performance by the Burlington High School choir at Wrigley Field was the last straw. I am sick to death :mad: of musicians who think that The National Anthem sounds better when they “interpret” it. That is, they add words, modify or unnecessarily stretch out certain notes, or otherwise don’t perform it the way it was intended. Blues and R&B musicians are the biggest offenders. They somehow feel the need to sing a line, then ask “know what I’m talkin’ about?” or add other interpretive remarks. An episode of The Simpsons poked fun at this tendency. Back at a Holyfield fight against a British opponent a few months back, the British performer sang a perfect rendition of “God Save the Queen” and had the crowd, who sang along with him, in tears. Then the American guy gets up and performs an “interpretive” rendition with a lot of spoken remarks. The American crowd, not knowing what was coming next, couldn’t keep up and gave up about half way through. I’m sure it was all they could do for the British crowd to keep from snickering. I, for one, believe that The National Anthem is not open to interpretive performances and should be sung/performed EXACTLY AS IT WAS WRITTEN AND SCORED, or not at all. A pox upon you, Burlington High School choir teacher, and all the rest of you who like to “spruce up” our National Anthem to your tastes. Sit down and let Wayne Messmer do it, for crying out loud. At least he does it right. Who’s with me? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/2 "2000-08-15T21:28:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > \*\* > > Back at a Holyfield fight against a British opponent a few months back, the British performer sang a perfect rendition of “God Save the Queen” and had the crowd, who sang along with him, in tears. Then the American guy gets up and performs an “interpretive” rendition with a lot of spoken remarks. The American crowd, not knowing what was coming next, couldn’t keep up and gave up about half way through. I’m sure it was all they could do for the British crowd to keep from snickering. > \*\* For the sake of clarity, the British guy had the British half of the crowd singing “God Save the Queen,” and the American guy performed an “interpretive” rendition of The National Anthem. One must be clear. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/3 "2000-08-15T21:54:19Z")
I dunno, **rastahomie**. Sounds to me like what you pointed out is one of the many reasons America is better than Britain. We do things our own way! ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/4 "2000-08-15T22:29:17Z")
I have to agree. I hate it when people think that it is important to utterly slaughter a song by singing the higher notes as high as they can sing, not as they were written. The result is making me wish to cover my ears whenever somebody tries to sing the national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/5 "2000-08-15T22:37:51Z")
Would you suggest that somebody go out and burn all the copies of Hendrix’s version of the Star Strangled Banner? ---
**Author:** ![BigJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9bd4f/32.png) [@BigJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigJoe)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/6 "2000-08-15T22:50:48Z")
adam - certainly NOT! He spoke of mere musicians. As everyone knows, Hedrix is a deity. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2000, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/7 "2000-08-15T23:50:41Z")
This is probably IMHO material, but the best vocal performance of the National Anthem was by Whitney Huston at the Super Bowl. I forget which one it was, but the Golf War was going on at the time. F-16s from MacDill AFB flew over head at the end… She kicked ass!! I agree with the OP sincerely. I cannot stand when people srew up the song like that. ---
**Author:** ![BigJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9bd4f/32.png) [@BigJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigJoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/8 "2000-08-16T00:14:26Z")
Bear, “Golf War”? Tiger considers the field works before the #10 green. His eyes narrow. A usually gentle face becomes hard. “McDuff, my 9 iron!” Valiant V J Singh glares back. “Bring it on kid! I’ll bury you!” Carnage ensues. ---
**Author:** ![Bluepony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/9 "2000-08-16T00:24:22Z")
Golf War? You mean I was stuck in the Persian Gulf for ten months and I could’ve been fighting the Golf War instead? This bites! It was about that time that my chipping game got better too. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/10 "2000-08-16T00:37:03Z")
No, no, no. Wrong war. The _golf_ war was fought in and around Oka/Kahnehsatake, Quebec, circa 1990. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/11 "2000-08-16T01:00:11Z")
Anything’s better than Roseanne singing the National Anthem, IMHO… ---
**Author:** ![BigJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9bd4f/32.png) [@BigJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigJoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/12 "2000-08-16T01:04:35Z")
matt, negative, negative - that was the ‘GOOF’ war! Scoobie is NOT ammused! (snicker, snort… ACK\>\>\>\>\>\>\>) Gimme that pipe! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/13 "2000-08-16T01:28:36Z")
Never mind. Petty. Cut right to the quick!! “Nip it in the bud, Andy, nip it in the bud!” Our national anthem is _utterly_ unsingable. It is primarily an exercise in operatic intervals without the merest hint of a harmonic/melodic connection. The high note on “land of the **FREE…** ” leaps all out of context. Never mind that it shouldn’t be sung “artisticly”. It should not be sung **AT ALL**! F. Scott Key’s little bit of bloodthirsty doggerel is harmless enough, but it was set to music in much the same way as the principal object of a firing squad is set to the wall! America the Beautiful! Columbia, Gem of the Ocean! “Yankee Doodle” is our **real** original national anthem, and you can sing that one! “Louie, Louie” would be an improvement! What is Dead Chipmunk’s position on this issue? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/14 "2000-08-16T02:43:02Z")
> [@](#): > > No, no, no. Wrong war. The _golf_ war was fought in and around Oka/Kahnehsatake, Quebec, circa 1990. > [@](#): > > Golf War? You mean I was stuck in the Persian Gulf for ten months and I could’ve been fighting the Golf War instead? This bites! It was about that time that my chipping game got better too. > [@](#): > > Bear, > > “Golf War”? > > Tiger considers the field works before the #10 green. His eyes narrow. A usually gentle face becomes hard. “McDuff, my 9 iron!” > > Valiant V J Singh glares back. “Bring it on kid! I’ll bury you!” > > Carnage ensues. **Bastards!** 😃 Ok, I also mistyped “Houston”… It was SuperBowl XXV, Giants vs. Bills Jan. 27, 1991 in Tampa, FL ---
**Author:** ![Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/15 "2000-08-16T18:31:27Z")
Elucidator is right. Although the national anthem makes those little hairs stand up on the back of my neck, it is crap. We have so many great songs (America the beautiful gets my vote) but for some reason we’re stuck with the oft-massacred poem set to music. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/16 "2000-08-16T19:11:28Z")
I once saw a boxing match many years ago, where Germaine Jackson sang America the Beautiful. It was grand. That, and I also recall Ray Charles singing the same song at a Fourth of July festival, back when the Statue of Liberty was still enshrouded in girders for maintenance. That one actually brought gooseflesh when I recalled it. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2000, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/17 "2000-08-16T21:01:20Z")
My favorite rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was the one that Bleeding Gums Murphy performed on the Simpsons, as was alluded to in the OP. I think that many “serious” interpretations of the song are annoying as hell, and the novelty has worn off. If it’s a “serious” occasion, they should just sing and play it the regular way. But baseball games are too plentiful to warrant a formal rendition. In that case we can lighten up and let Bleeding Gums Murphy sing it, or Cindy Lauper. In places where people go solely to be entertained, such as baseball games and Woodstock, any interpretation is OK, especially if it’s fun. (unless Roseanne sings it) Even though it’s our NATIONAL ANTHEMN, it needs to be played with at times. The things that are the most SERIOUS often get made fun of the most, just as those who can laugh at themselves are usually more respected than those who can’t. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/18 "2000-08-17T03:56:31Z")
How about Smokey Robinson’s mixing of The Banner and The Beautiful before Game 6 of the 1986 world Series? That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in a baseball. That was, until the parachutist landing between the pitcher’s mound and home plate that same night , and the ground ball to Bill Buckner that next morning… Anyway, as I made a speech a while back advocating changing the national anthem to ‘America the Beautiful’, let me state a few comments. The melody to ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ came from a British drinking song. It has one of the widest note ranges of any non-choral song; as it is written it is almost impossible to both sing the ‘Oh say’ and ‘land of the free’. Also, the third verse of the song had a reference to slavery that is somewhat controversial: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:” In contrast, the only problem America the Beautiful has is that some words are kind of funny: ‘Fruited plain’ and example. Yet it has a great melody that anyone can sing. ---
**Author:** ![Revedge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecae2f/32.png) [@Revedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revedge)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/19 "2000-08-17T08:01:24Z")
Having been in marching bands for what seemed like forever, I have played the National Anthem probably close to a thousand times in my life. (All right, only 500) Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Wonder’s versions are the two best I’ve ever heard. Whitney’s was one of the most moving because of the circumstances. I agree that if you are going to do an “interpretive” version, you by god better be incredibly good. The National Anthem is NOT just a performance, it is a communal declaration of patiotism and support for those ideals which we stand for as a nation. To “interpret” the anthem is to remove the communal spirit. Part of what makes the Jimi Hendrix version so effective, is that while it is “interpretive”, it fit into the communal style of Woodstock. So, in the end, it fulfilled the spirit of what the Anthem stood for. ---
**Author:** ![George\_Gray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@George\_Gray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Gray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493/20 "2000-08-17T08:06:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > \*\*Sit down and let Wayne Messmer do it, for crying out loud. At least he does it right. \*\* Didn’t Wayne Messmer get shot in the throat? The best national anthems ever were sung at the old Chicago Stadium before every Blackhawk game. Truly awesome… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-interpretive-performances-of-the-national-anthem/29493.md?page=2)