Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

I can see.

The fight goes on.

it's written to the tune of a British drinking ditty, it glorifies war, and it's near impossible for the average person to sing . . . I'd prefer something that speaks to our better nature as the national anthem . . . something like this, for example . . .

This Land Is Your Land
words and music by Woody Guthrie

Chorus:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Chorus (2x)

However, I could point out in regards to Guthrie's song that "this land" is "our land" only because those who came before us stole it from the people who were already here. Moreover, quite a bit of it is now in the hands of agribusiness and real estate moguls.

For those of us with a conscience and with an understanding of the 'hidden' history of American culture, "patriotism" can be somewhat problematic.

My "patriotism" is not so much a "love of country" as a deeply felt respect for and dedication to the IDEALS -- Liberty, Truth, Justice -- that it is SUPPOSED to represent. When we loose track of those ideals and the on-going struggle to sustain them, I question whether the "star spangled banner" (a metaphor) is "still there".

The song "This Land is My Land" isn't meant to belttle the killing of the Indians or the concentration of property.

America The Beautiful, 1913 version

by Katharine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife.
Who more than self the country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America ! America !
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life !
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

...it would never fly, at least not today.

Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

nt

Frankly I don't think that there's anything wrong with having a national anthem that actually requires a little talent to sing.

Idle thought: wouldn't it be cool if they made American Pie the national anthem? I know it's ten minutes long, but if you get a couple of hundred people together into a room and put that on you get a damn good, rollicking sing along. It'd be great at baseball games...

(The English version most commonly sung in South Africa. )
The Internationale

Arise ye prisoners of starvation
Arise ye toilers of the earth
For reason thunders new creation
`Tis a better world in birth.

Never more traditions' chains shall bind us
Arise ye toilers no more in thrall
The earth shall rise on new foundations
We are naught but we shall be all.

Then comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale
Unites the human race.

British rocker Billy Bragg wrote updated lyrics to "The Internationale"

The Internationale

Stand up, all victims of oppression
For the tyrants fear your might
Don't cling so hard to your possessions
For you have nothing, if you have no rights
Let racist ignorance be ended
For respect makes the empires fall
Freedom is merely privilege extended
Unless enjoyed by one and all

Chorus:
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The Internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race

Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We'll live together or we'll die alone
In our world poisoned by exploitation
Those who have taken, now they must give
And end the vanity of nations
We've but one Earth on which to live

And so begins the final drama
In the streets and in the fields
We stand unbowed before their armour
We defy their guns and shields
When we fight, provoked by their aggression
Let us be inspired by like and love
For though they offer us concessions
Change will not come from above

Words: Billy Bragg Music: Pierre Degeyter

But, I must admit to a fondness for the original French version. The "Internationale" and "La Marsellaise" can really stir the soul.

"The Star Spangled Banner", just as a song, leaves me cold.