# Sing our National Anthem the right way!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 7, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471 "2011-02-07T01:24:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/1 "2011-02-07T01:24:22Z")
I’m not watching the Super Bowl (freakin’ satellite signal disrupted), but I’m not much for watching football anyway. Browsing the web, I see that Christina Aguilera messed up the lyrics to the National Anthem. I played the video, and what struck me was the style of her singing. I don’t know what the correct musical term is for it, but I think you know what I mean – extending words and phrases into more syllables and expanding the range of each syllable as you go along. Our National Anthem is sacred, people! Get someone who can sing it properly! You can’t just pick a pop singer because he/she is popular and hope he/she gets it right! The National Anthem is not the song for fancy voice gymnastics (hey, I said I don’t know the terms); next time, a baritone or skillful tenor or even a soprano who can reach the high notes and low notes without embellishments.
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### Author:  [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/2 "2011-02-07T01:33:22Z")
And get off his lawn, too!
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### Author:  [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/3 "2011-02-07T01:37:03Z")
My parents were in a pool about how long it would take for her to sing it. I commented that the pool would be rigged since she would probably be lipsynching. I was proven wrong.
1m53s, btw.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/4 "2011-02-07T01:37:58Z")
The _Star Spangled Banner_ is one of the worst musical compositions for singing. It sucks.
Ray Charles did a great version of it. Inspiring. But he wasn’t the ideal you wished for. Get over it.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/5 "2011-02-07T01:42:56Z")
> [@Sycorax](#):
>
> Our National Anthem is sacred, people!
No, it isn’t; not in any sense of the word.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/6 "2011-02-07T01:46:15Z")
Are you watching a rebroadcast of an old Superbowl? I was impressed by the relatively _conservative_ amount of [melisma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melisma) the singer used. Which isn’t to say she didn’t use it, just not compared to most singers of the anthem these days.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/7 "2011-02-07T01:46:33Z")
> [@Hades](#):
>
> No, it isn’t; not in any sense of the word.
Maybe not, but you should still be respectful. And that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attempt to sing it correctly.
(My sister was going on and on about how good Xtina is. Because she’s a music major, Baby Sis dubs herself THE expert in all things music – if SHE says it’s good, it is.)
Aguilerra may be a talented singer, but her attempt to do the “Star-Spangled Banner” sucked.
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### Author:  [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/8 "2011-02-07T01:54:39Z")
Hades: “No, it isn’t; not in any sense of the word.”
Well, okay, you got me there; a bit of hyperbole on my part, but I think many patriotic Americans would confess to a lump in the throat and tear in the eye on hearing it. Granted, it’s a difficult song for most singers, but then, there’s the crux of it – get someone who can do it justice!
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/9 "2011-02-07T01:56:44Z")
I hate the way people think they need to “perform” the anthem. I know the original melody was a drinking song and I know it’s very difficult to sing, but I’ve never heard a gussied-up version that was worth anything.
Please, NFL, hire someone who will do it justice, as written. Done well, it’s a moving piece. Sadly, it’s rarely done well, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/10 "2011-02-07T02:02:27Z")
> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> Are you watching a rebroadcast of an old Superbowl? I was impressed by the relatively _conservative_ amount of [melisma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melisma) the singer used. Which isn’t to say she didn’t use it, just not compared to most singers of the anthem these days.
Dude, she made the word “wave” into at least twenty syllables.
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### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/11 "2011-02-07T02:02:27Z")
They should have had Jim Cornelison do it right.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/12 "2011-02-07T02:06:32Z")
Sadly, Jimi Hendrix is dead.
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### Author:  [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/13 "2011-02-07T02:16:32Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> Please, NFL, hire someone who will do it justice, as written.
They had to get Xtina because Enrico Pallazzo was a little tied up.
😃
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### Author:  [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/14 "2011-02-07T02:43:09Z")
> [@samclem](#):
>
> The _Star Spangled Banner_ is one of the worst musical compositions for singing. It sucks.
>
> Ray Charles did a great version of it. Inspiring. But he wasn’t the ideal you wished for. Get over it.
Are you sure you’re not thinking of “America the Beautiful”? I’m looking for him singing SSB but no luck so far.
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### Author:  [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/15 "2011-02-07T03:02:22Z")
Did anybody else notice that Christina messed up the lyrics?
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/16 "2011-02-07T03:11:34Z")
> [@samclem](#):
>
> Ray Charles did a great version of it. Inspiring. But he wasn’t the ideal you wished for. Get over it.
> [@AppallingGael](#):
>
> Are you sure you’re not thinking of “America the Beautiful”? I’m looking for him singing SSB but no luck so far.
:smack:
You are correct, sir.
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### Author:  [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/17 "2011-02-07T03:19:34Z")
I remember Aretha Franklin similarly oversinging it and botching the words at one of the Democratic National Conventions ('72?).
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/18 "2011-02-07T03:25:21Z")
I don’t even get why we sing it at sporting events. Seems to “de-sacredfy” the whole thing, so to speak.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/19 "2011-02-07T03:29:14Z")
By the way, I think she did a great job smoothing over her mistakes. At least she sings it.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sing-our-national-anthem-the-right-way/570471/20 "2011-02-07T03:32:31Z")
It doesn’t have to be sung dead straight to come out nicely; take a listen to [Marvin Gaye](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRvVzaQ6i8A) interpreting it. Christina Aguilera is truly an amazing singer, but she has a serious problem with oversinging. She has the power and the tone to have done a beautiful job on your anthem, but she chose to showboat instead, and I actually burst out laughing at one point listening to it.
[Link to Christina’s version.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgxA3Aus8jY)
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