# Star Spangled Banner: Is There A More Difficult National Anthem To Sing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227 "2006-01-23T07:11:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/1 "2006-01-23T07:11:42Z")
I happened to watch the start of the football game today and there was Carrie Underwood doing a nice job on what has to be the most difficult national anthem, world-wide, in the history of man, to sing. The audience actually applauded because she was able to hit the notes. We have all seen and heard the disastrous attempts by others over the years. Why in the hell did they ever pick that song, of all the quite nice patriotic songs, to make as our national anthem? I mean, seriously…to get applause, because you can hit the notes? Now that is a wise idea to choose a national anthem that probably one in 50,000 people can sing correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Pensandfeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Pensandfeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pensandfeathers)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/2 "2006-01-23T07:30:53Z")
I always thought “America the Beautiful” was more fitting as a national anthem. It’s easy to sing (well, easier than SSB), and its kind of lovely. It does mention God a few times, which might ruffle a few feathers, but so does our current anthem…just not in the half that we know the words to. Also, “America the Beautiful” is about how beautiful the country is, and how different each region is. It’s not about fighting and battles. A much better national anthem, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/3 "2006-01-23T12:43:36Z")
The music comes from a song that was sung at a lot faster tempo by a bunch of drunken Englishmen in a pub, [To Anacreon in Heaven](http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/anacreon.html), a song wherein a minor diety rattles around Olympus trying to get the gods to sponsor a club. It probably didn’t sound too good then either, but then again you didn’t have a hundred thousand people standing up listening to it. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/4 "2006-01-23T18:52:20Z")
It only covers an octave and a half. I say just customize the key to your vocal range. ---
**Author:** ![jakeline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@jakeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakeline)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/5 "2006-01-23T20:55:02Z")
I don’t have a good cite to back this up, but I believe that the average vocal range for someone untrained is a little less than an octave. For my personal observations, I can definitely vouch for that being the case. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/6 "2006-01-23T22:49:37Z")
Not taking anything away from her performance, which sounded pretty solid to me, but I bet they were applauding her at least partly for her lack of vocal gymnastics (a la Maria Carey and others). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/7 "2006-01-23T22:56:18Z")
The OP asks if there is a more difficult national anthem to sing. Ever try the Mexican anthem? As for the SSB, I _like_ it, especially the last verse. I’ll bet I’m one of the few who can recite all four verses without a script in from of me! 😃 And as for “American the Beautiful”, well, the SSB may be too martial for some folks, but “_thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears_?” Urk, that’s nationalistic glurge. If I had to pick an already existing song to replace the SSB, I might go for “This Land isYour Land”. But I wouldn’t be happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/8 "2006-01-23T23:51:55Z")
Couldn’t be worse than verse three of _God Save the Queen_ (if you didn’t know already, it’s sung to the same tune as _My country 'tis of thee_): > [@The UK's lame national anthem](#): > > O Lord, our God, arise, > Scatter her enemies, > And make them fall. > Confound their politics, > Frustrate their knavish tricks, > On thee our hopes we fix: > God save the Queen. Jingoism, monarchism, and xenophobia all in one neat and tidy bundle - and that’s not even taking into account verse five’s “rebellious Scots to crush” - bearing in mind that it’s Scotland’s anthem too. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/9 "2006-01-24T00:18:20Z")
I should clarify that my response was not about the tune, but to this: > [@Baker](#): > > nationalistic glurge ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/10 "2006-01-24T00:22:16Z")
I find “O Canada” much harder to sing, but that’s mainly because I don’t know all the words. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/11 "2006-01-24T00:25:25Z")
Untrained person’s range is a little less than an octave? Are you serious? I’m not trained and I can do 3 without resorting to a falsetto, and 4 with. It’s not the most beautiful sound in the world, but it’s certainly no stretch. I’ve always liked the Star Spangled Banner. The Korean national anthem is nice too, but I’m just biased like that. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/12 "2006-01-24T00:27:46Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Couldn’t be worse than verse three of _God Save the Queen_. But is verse three ever sung nowadays? Or has it been relegated to the scrapbin like some of the original verses of \*Advance Australia Fair \* (which talked about us still keeping a British soul etc). \*God Defend New Zealand \* has a few tricky bits in it. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/13 "2006-01-24T00:30:04Z")
> [@jakeline](#): > > I don’t have a good cite to back this up, but I believe that the average vocal range for someone untrained is a little less than an octave. For my personal observations, I can definitely vouch for that being the case. After years of singing with untrained church congregations, I’d agree with this wholeheartedly. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/14 "2006-01-24T00:48:41Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Not taking anything away from her performance, which sounded pretty solid to me, but I bet they were applauding her at least partly for her lack of vocal gymnastics (a la Maria Carey and others). There was recently a thread commenting on the way performers seem to love to practice all sorts of vocal gymnastics. My remedy was to have them sing along with the Marine Corps Band (or any band dedicated to authenticity) and keep up or be left behind. There would be precious little time for gymnastics if the song is performed as written. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/15 "2006-01-24T02:21:41Z")
I can think of much harder national anthems to sing, but that’s mostly just because I can only speak English. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/16 "2006-01-24T02:46:15Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > And as for “American the Beautiful”, well, the SSB may be too martial for some folks, but “_thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears_?” Urk, that’s nationalistic glurge. As the lyrics clearly state, it’s a “dream”, a vision of the greatness this country can achieve. I wouldn’t call that glurge. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/17 "2006-01-24T03:44:02Z")
> [@God Save The Queen](#): > > O Lord, our God, arise, > Scatter her enemies, “Arise” and “enemies” rhyme? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/18 "2006-01-24T05:42:53Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > “Arise” and “enemies” rhyme? They do if you want them to. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/19 "2006-01-24T07:38:49Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > Untrained person’s range is a little less than an octave? Are you serious? I’m not trained and I can do 3 without resorting to a falsetto, and 4 with. It’s not the most beautiful sound in the world, but it’s certainly no stretch. > I’ve always liked the Star Spangled Banner. The Korean national anthem is nice too, but I’m just biased like that. Are _you_ serious!? That’s an astounding capability! Three octaves is a pretty good range, probably more than most pop or rock singers can achieve (people who sing regularly, but aren’t trained). I’m a reasonably capable singer, though I will never win any awards for having a beautiful voice, and I sing all the time. My range might be about two octaves, maybe three if I push it. This turns out to be adequate for 90% of the singing I’ve ever done. There might be more difficult anthems to sing than the SSB, but I don’t know them. By which I mean, I really don’t know any of other national anthems. I know, it’s not very cosmopolitan of me, but what can you do, right? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227/20 "2006-01-24T08:12:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I find “O Canada” much harder to sing, but that’s mainly because I don’t know all the words. 😃 “O Canada, O Canada! Wie treu sind deine Blätter…” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-spangled-banner-is-there-a-more-difficult-national-anthem-to-sing/341227.md?page=2)