Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Spaceopoly Kill this Thread V: the 24 hour version!

I really like "O Canada". It's much easier to sing than the "Star-Spangled Banner", which, of course, is sung to the tune of a German drinking song.

Every fourth of July, I like to open the windows at my place and crank Jimi Hendrix's version of the "Star Spangled Banner".

The first video shown on VH1 was Marvin Gaye -- with whom I share a birthday -- performing the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Garrison Keillor always makes a big deal about singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" in the key of G Major, which makes the high notes reachable by altos and basses. Of course, it also makes the low notes unreachable by many sopranos and tenors. You really can't win with that song.

True enough.

I've long felt the US should just switch to Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", a much better and easier to sing piece of music overall.

I've long felt we should just make the old Batman TV show theme song the new Anthem.

Only if they include Woody's verse about "Private Property".

"This Land" would work, though when I was a kid I disliked the part about "from California to the New York Islands" because I lived in Massachusetts.

"American the Beautiful" would have been a far better choice than "The Star-Spangled Banner".

I'm also very partial to "Life Ev'ry Voice and Sing", which is referred to as the African-American National Anthem.

"America the Beautiful" is a good one.

For that matter, I'm also fond of Chuck Berry's "Livin' In The USA".

There are a few others that come up.

"My Country 'Tis of Thee", of course, would be troublesome because it uses the same tune as "God Save the Queen".

"National Hymn" ("God of Our Fathers") is too overtly religious to be a song for all people, though the tune is very catchy.

"God Bless America" is, well, a little cheesy.

If I had to pick, I think I'd still go with "America the Beautiful".

My nominee remains "Proud To Be An American" by The Tubes.

The "Stars and Stripes Forever" with "Be kind to your web-footed friends" as the lyrics - lively, with a positive message.

I could never think up a good Canadian national anthem. O Canada is a snoozer.

Of course, if we're talking national anthems, "La Marseillaise" may be my very favorite. That's a lot of fun to sing!

The part about watering our fields with the impure blood of the Germans gets you right there.

We should just split the difference and sing our own national anthem in French. Not that my French is so great (I think "B+" was my peak in that regard), but think of the scandal it would cause with the punditocracy!

Maybe "American Idiot" could be our national anthem!

Belive it or not, Cleome, it's already been translated:

La Bannière Étoilée,
l'hymne national américain
(The Star Spangled Banner)
(Trad., P.D., French words David Émile Marcantel)

O dites, voyez-vous
Dans la lumière du jour
Le drapeau qu'on saluait
À la tombée de la nuit ?
Dont les trois couleurs vives
Pendant la dure bataille
Au-dessus des remparts
Inspiraient notre pays.
Et l'éclair des fusées,
Des bombes qui explosaient,
Démontraient toute la nuit
Que le drapeau demeurait.
Est-ce que la bannière étoilée
Continue toujours à flotter
Au-dessus d'une nation brave,
Terre de la liberté ?

Tsk. And posting this sort of thing while on the public payroll, too. Those anti-library zealots were right all along.

Yeah.

We should translate our anthem back into Freedom to show them what for.

Actually, I posted that during my lunch break!

That won't matter to the punditocracy, though. They care not for things like facts.

Also, they need to inspect your lunch to make sure you're not dining too lavishly on the public dime. Did you really need to buy imported cheese for that sandwich?

Public dime is about right. When you divide when the citizens of my fair city pay in taxes per year and then take the small part that goes to support the Library and then take the part of that which actually goes toward my salary, I'd actually give them change from a dime.

But the question remains: How do you afford all that imported cheese?

We need to appoint a special commission to investigate corruption amongst librarians. I suspect they have been manipulating the Holds and Interbranch Loans systems for personal gain.

I used Gain Detergent for many years, but lately I've been using Arm and Hammer liquid.