Super Bowl's National Anthem by Jennifer Hudson

[Rustic23]

CuppaJoe,
Liked the music, but how come they had that chef directing it? However the British National is singable.
YouTube - British Anthem, God Save the Queen (with lyrics)

 

[ChrisC]

REWahoo: I think Maya Rudolph is the late Minnie Ripperton's daughter who could hit 5 octaves. She died of cancer very young, unfortunately. That crazy Maya...what a hoot!
HaHa: If you think that gal does it for you in French, you must absolutely have heart palpitations when you hear Edith Piaf? Try her.
Well, I do get the point that maybe (just maybe) the National Anthem should be sung in a traditional manner, but I still liked it (say I guiltly with hung held down..).

Maya Rudolph is Minnie Ripperton's daughter. And here's Ripperton's classic: YouTube - Minnie Riperton 明妮 1975 loving you

 

[Orchidflower]

As I remember, Riperton had Maya with her Jewish manager or somesuch. Such talent. Such a loss for us all.

 

[mickeyd]

I much prefer the traditional (non jazzed up) version of the NA. It seems that anyone that is boroght in to only sing the NA these days feels obligated to add a lot of ruffles to the piece, especially near the end when they will get a big ovation.

It all about the singer, not the patriotic moment. The girl last night did indeed lip sync the NA...

 

[samclem]

A vote here for a traditionally-sung anthem with which the audience can (at least try to) sing.

BTW, Francis Scott Key's poem had four stanzas, but most people know only the first one. Isaac Asimov was a very big fan of the national anthem, and explains the origin of the poem in a short article written many years ago. I prefer the longer version of the poem. I'm not religious, but I do like the last stanza a lot:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n - rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation.

​

Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto--"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.​

 

[unclemick]

Well.. I guess I can be the lone voice of dissent here. I am regularly asked to sing the national anthem at various events and there are almost always strings attached. Loads of history about this song - based on an old pub tune.

Often I am contractually required to follow the provisions laid out in the National Anthem Committee (NAC) code (1942).

It lays out the proper key for performances (A-flat or B-flat), requiring no liberty be taken in either style or substance with the approved version of the National Anthem, the requirement of an announcement before the anthem for the assembled to join in singing, mandating the tempo of the anthem, and specified that on the metronome—settings 104bpm for the verses and 96bpm for the chorus.

There is a lot of controversy about this as the Congressional adoption of this code (June 1942) left out many of the details recommended by the committee and included the phrase—with the right hand over the heart—which was not contained in the NAC document. This decision was almost immediatly denounced by various stake holders.

Personally I like the song plain and undecorated. The words are good and should be able to stand on their own. The intent of the old code was that the song shine - not the performer. When the song is sung in a nonstandard way, you can't sing along and this is our song, a participatory anthem and a straight forward version gives you a fighting chance of singing along.

Still - I hope that she was well paid for this harrowing 90 seconds or so. The stakes are very high for the performer...

Yep.

heh heh heh - but I who cannot carry a tune in a bucket shall remain otherwise - I never sing along, except silently - vote for the plainest version possible.

 

[harley]

A vote here for a traditionally-sung anthem with which the audience can (at least try to) sing.

BTW, Francis Scott Key's poem had four stanzas, but most people know only the first one. Isaac Asimov was a very big fan of the national anthem, and explains the origin of the poem in a short article written many years ago. I prefer the longer version of the poem. I'm not religious, but I do like the last stanza a lot:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n - rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation.​

Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,

And this be our motto--"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.​

​

Try fitting those words into the tune, and you'll see why nobody sings them.

It is a beautiful poem, though.

 

[CuppaJoe]

CuppaJoe,
Liked the music, but how come they had that chef directing it? However the British National is singable.

This one is also not a national anthem, but may be an equivalent to "God Save the Queen." And it's done in black tie! BTW, I spent an unforgettable Fourth of July in the room in this video.
YouTube - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

 

[RonBoyd]

Was anyone but me just overjoyed by the phenomenal rendition of the National Anthem sung by Jennifer Hudson

As she sang, I rtold DW that was the best rendition I had ever heard -- ranking up their with Jimmy Hendricks.

 

[Orchidflower]

I think this seems to be a case of either you just loved it or hated it. Seems no mid-ground opinions on this issue.

 

[Rustic23]

Well, as I said, I prefer a more classic version, but hate would be a little strong when you have one like this to compare it with:

YouTube - Roseanne's Infamous National Anthem

 

[Calgary_Girl]

For our British and Canadian friends, do you see God Save the Queen sung in wildly different formats?

I'm not sure about "God Save The Queen" since we typically sing "Oh Canada" ;-). (I don't even think I've ever heard the former sung). Yes, the format is usually pretty similar

 

[Rustic23]

I figured you would hear 'Oh Canada' more often, but might be more likely to here 'God Save the Queen' more often than those of us to the south.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

I figured you would hear 'Oh Canada' more often, but might be more likely to here 'God Save the Queen' more often than those of us to the south.

LOL. True but the attitude the last few years has been "God Save The Who" Oh, you mean the old lady whose face is still on the paper money?? Now I know who you're talking about! BTW, WHY is her mug still on our money anyway

 

[harley]

LOL. True but the attitude the last few years has been "God Save The Who"

Too late. Two of them are already dead.

 

[clifp]

LOL. True but the attitude the last few years has been "God Save The Who" Oh, you mean the old lady whose face is still on the paper money?? Now I know who you're talking about! BTW, WHY is her mug still on our money anyway

Probably for the same reason her mugs in on the British pound, Queen Elizabeth is your head of state. Something which evidently most Canadians are ignorant of as this article demonstrates

A Dominion Institute survey conducted by Ipsos Reid during the December constitutional crisis and released just before Christmas reveals that an alarmingly sizable proportion of Canadians are woefully ignorant of how Canada's parliamentary system is structured, with slightly more than half of respondents believing our prime ministers are directly elected.
In fact, Canadians vote for their local Member of Parliament, the only ones casting ballots directly for the prime minister being voters in his or her own riding. The leader of whichever party wins the most seats in Parliament is invited by the Governor General to become prime minister.
Nearly as many (42 per cent) erroneously believe the prime minister is Canada's head of state, while one in three (33 per cent) mistakenly think that office belongs to the Governor General. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II is Canada's Head of State, something only 24 per cent of respondents affirmed correctly. Four in 10 surveyed were unable to correctly identify Canada as a "constitutional monarchy."

Who thinks it is funny that I knew more about Canadian government than 76% of Canadians. .