Why Does the Superbowl Hate America?
Watch the girl sing while you follow the ... revisions below:
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming reaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? Oh so proudly we washed at the twilight's last reaming
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our a flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the nuh brave?
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I liked Maya Rudolph's version better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Ow55HzOKE
Watch "America the Beautiful"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1bNU9gqmzE
At the "God shed his grace on thee" line, the Steelers coach looks up and shakes his head. Probably meaningless, but it was a "wait, what?" moment for me.
Yeah, I noticed that. He's thinking "that's not gonna work"
By the way, for what it's worth, I hate the stop and go styling that singers seem to have a need to do to put their own stamp on the song. Stop it, singers.
What Greg said. Even if she hadn't messed the actual words up it was still the worst performance of the National Anthem I've seen in quite some time.
And yes American the Beautiful was equally atrocious.
What bothers me even more than the trashing of the lyrics is the completely new music that each of these celebrities uses while singing the Anthem. John Stafford Smith's tune seems to be avoided at all cost by most celebrities. Many times it is impossible to know what song they are singing unless you can recognize some of the words.
I like what some sportswriter quipped, "First fumble of the Superbowl was Christina Aguilera."
Pathetic.
I purposely tune in late to avoid subjecting myself to that jingoistic garbage.
I KNOW the Star Spangled Banner, but her lyrics are so confused, that it confused me!! Now I have to get her lyrics out of my head so I can remember the real ones!
Actually, we should thank Aguilera, the song would have taken an additional 5 minutes to get through if she hadn't omitted lines.
Hah! I thought it was just me.
I turned to the folks sitting next to me when she was singing the anthem, and motioned and quietly said 'that's not right' when she flubbed the lyrics (which was especially obvious on her second attempted use of "what so proudly/oh so proudly...") - yet no one else noticed! So after the song ended, I brought it up again, and said 'she repeated the 'proudly' line instead of the 'o'er the ramparts' line - and folks didn't think so, and that I was just making shit up. Honestly.
Thanks for the reassurance I heard what I heard!
à Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Translation:
O Canada!
Land of our forefathers,
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious
garland of flowers.
As is thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic
Of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights
(A shame the cruddy English version is the one wot gets all the press.)
I think it's funny that it's more jingoistic and religious than the American National anthem. Also, less specific. The Americans picked one epic wielding of the epee with God's permission and shit and expanded on that one example. Nothing specific is mentioned in the Canadian anthem.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
...you were saying?
Is repeating the words supposed to tell me something I didn't know? It is still all about one battle, and there is still the unending fact of what yer-average Canadiahoovian claims as the contrast between the US and Canada that is a falsehood. Canadians would never abuse their first citizens, Canada never went to war, what's this thing with creationism in the US, religious fundamentalism, bellicose national anthem.
No, sorry, the fact that the US national anthem is all about a battle and the glory of battle is well established. Sorry if you thought I was saying that wasn't true. It's just that the usual implied Canadian contrast is false.