Fort McHenry in the city of Baltimore was expecting an attack from the British fleet any day.  Over its ramparts, the widow's flag flew, with all of its fifteen stars and shining glory, awaiting the sight of English vessels on the horizen.

In late August, 1814, whisperings filled the city.  It had been heard that enemy soldiers had entered Washington, burning the Capitol and the White House.  Baltimore, everyone thought, would be next.

Dr. William Beanes of Georgetown was imprisoned on the British warship Tonnant.  He was accused of unfriendly acts towards British soldiers, and his townsmen were certain that he would be hung.  In an effort to save him, they enlisted the help of young local lawyer Francis Scott Key, and his friend Colonel John Skinner.  The two men set out in a small, unnamed boat flying the white flag of truce, armed with letters from captured British soldiers who detailed how kind Dr. William Beanes had been to them.  As Francis Key and John Skinner passed Fort McHenry, the widow's flag, 30-feet by 42-feet, was proudly flying.

Once aboard the Tonnant with the intention of negogiating for Dr. Beanes's freedom, the Americans overheard too many details about the impending attack on the city of Baltimore, and were suddenly prisoners themselves.  Dr. Beanes was officially released, but all three men were held on the smaller ship Surprise until the attack on Baltimore should be completed.  Days passed, and they grew restless, waiting.

On the dawn of September 13, Francis Scott Key watched the attack on Fort McHenry.  New British bombshells exploded into shrapnel after rocketing for 2 1/2 miles, leaving red streaks in the dark sky.  As these rockets periodically lit up the night, Key and Skinner watched anxiously from the deck of Surprise for the 15-star flag.  Every time, they saw it waving proudly there.  For 25 hours the shelling went on.  Hundreds of foot soldiers and a violent naval attack beat down on Fort McHenry, and still the battle went on.  And then, it stopped.  Everything was deadly silent.  Through the smoke, Francis Scott Key watched, straining his eyes for a glimpse of the American flag.

As the first light of dawn filled the sky, Francis saw the flag.  His heart swelled.  All night long words had been going through his mind, the words of a poem.  Now, using an old envelope from his coat pocket, he scribbled down some of these words.

The British soldiers returned in defeat, and let their prisoners free.  The courage of General Armistead and his men at Fort McHenry had convinced them that the price for defeating Baltimore would be too great.  Four months later, the Treaty of Ghent was signed: the War of 1812 was over.

The three men began the five-mile course upstream to Baltimore, and went to Old Fountain Inn for the night.  Dr. Beanes and Colonel Skinner quickly fell asleep, but Francis Scott Key ordered paper and ink.  He wrote down four verses, words which later became The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem.

His brother-in-law, Judge J.H. Nicholson, took the poem to the printing office of the Baltimore American.  Fourteen-year-old Samuel Sands was minding the shop in the absence of the men, who were fighting.  He printed the poem under the title The Defense of Fort M'Henry on handbills.  It soon became popular all over America, sung to the tune of To Anacreon in Heaven, a popular song of that era.

Congress named it our national anthem in 1931, but even before that this song helped America to identify proudly with its flag as a symbol of freedom; embodying what is good in our nation.  The original star-spangled banner made by the Widow Pickersgill hangs in the National Musuem of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington.

This song will always be sung in the land of the free, the home of the brave.

Original 1814 broadside, "The Defence of Fort M'Henry"

Resources:

1. A Children's story about Flag Day -"The Star-Spangled Banner" by Eva March Tappan http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/flag-day/short-stories/the-star-spangled-banner.html
2. "The Writing of The Star-Spangled Banner" http://www.tc-solutions.com/croom/ssb.html
3. "Facts about the United States' National Anthem" http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/september11/ssbfacts.html?exp=0
4. "The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner" by Natalie Miller, Cornerstones of Freedom, Childrens Press, Chicago, (c) 1965
5. "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Story of America's National Anthem" http://www.awesomestories.com/history/spangled_banner/spangled_banner_ch1.htm
6. "The Star-Spangled Banner at American History Musuem" http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/

Jose Feliciano is one of those artists that I've grown up with.  Honestly I didn't like his music much until my mission, when I was allowed to listen to his Christmas album.  Since then I have grown to seriously love his tunes.  He was born blind, but became one of the genius' of guitar.  He's famous for some of his classic covers.  I hope you enjoy!

California Dreaming

Flight of the Bumblebee

National Anthem

Light My Fire

I was backing an artist on the guitar who was supposed to sing the National Anthem before an L.A. Avengers game and it was the coolest thing to be in a place that size, stand mid-field and play. I can only imagine what it would be like to play to a packed house as the artist sang the song so horribly off key during the sound check that the people in charge wouldn't allow her to sing the song before the game, but for about two or three run-throughs while the place was filling up and players were all around us stretching, warming-up and psyching themselves up, I was there with my axe three feet away from center stage playing the Staple's Center.

Today while I was driving home and listening to NPR, a story came on about Jose Feliciano and his performance of the national anthem at the 1968 world series in Detroit. It was an amazing rendition of the anthem--probably the first time many heard it sung in a more informal, idiosyncratic style. It was beautiful, but many people thought that Feliciano was trying to make some kind of political statement. He wasn't. He was just singing for his beloved country. When I heard him sing, I started to sob. His voice and the words struck a cord in me. I felt the deep love for America and Americans that has always been there. I also remembered another rendition of the National Anthem that affected me similarly.

1968 was a terrible year in America. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated. Detroit had been rocked by riots and parts of the city had been burned. That year so many people had their hopes up that there would be a change. Maybe Gene McCarthy or Bobby could really get the Democratic nomination and we could have some hope for peace. It didn't turn out that way. We got Richard Nixon and more war.

Now 40 years later, we are in a similar situation. The Democratic Convention was highjacked and the DNC and the media have forced a corrupt and divisive candidate on us. What can we do? Well I hope we pumas will stick together no matter who wins this election. I hope we will continue to come together at The Confluence and talk to each other.

Other than that, I'm taking it one day at a time. And today I'm reminding myself that despite the horrors the Bush Administration has brought us, despite the ugly race baiting and sexism perpetrated by the Democratic candidate and his supporters for the past year, we will survive. And we will continue to love our country and to try to make it a better place, a more equal place for all.

Jose Feliciano singing the Star Spangled Banner. It's not the one from the '68 World Series, but it's the same arrangement.

Smokey Robinson singing to America in Fenway Park during the 1986 World Series.

This is an open thread.

I especially enjoyed hearing the fans in the arena sing the National Anthem, along with the hockey players and the Canadian Olympic Athletes that were recognized in a special ceremony. No one else, in my opinion, could have done a better job at singing the anthem than the fans themselves. A little out of sync, but who cared. They were great and you could hear and feel their patriotism right through the old television screen. I, too, felt proud just watching the faces as the camera panned around the arena and it was a welcoming sight and sound after such a crappy, crappy week!!

Only one little bone to pick with the editor(s) of the opening video. I didn't really notice any Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys in that montage! Maybe my eyes are failing me and I missed it. Showing the back of Wayne Gretzky heading onto the ice was a nice touch!!! Could almost bring tears to your eyes, along with yearnings of bygone days!!!!

It was just as well that the opening theme lifted your spirits after such a lousy week, because the game certainly didn't. But then again, it's early, right???? We not only need to think positively during these trying economic times, but also during this new and upcoming Leaf season!!!

The first anthem was by the lead singer of Three Doors Down, Brad Arnold and then tonight’s ‘performance’ was by Jessica Simpson. I really do not understand how these individuals do not a) know the correct words and b) respect the members of our military enough to learn and sing the correct words.

This summer during the Olympics, we got a glimpse of American at their best, both on the athletic field of play and in their displays of patriotism. Now, I am not saying that Jessica or Brad are unpatriotic, please do not take this that way. I am saying that seeing those athletes standing on the medal stand, listening to The Star Spangled Banner being played, watching them mouth the words or openly sing, sometimes with tears in their eyes is something very moving. I can not imagine what it feels like to be up there actually in that moment.

My opinion of a few athletes changed for the better because of the respect they showed their country and our national anthem. I will be the first to admit that I am not a fan of Kobe Bryant. But when I saw him on the medal stand singing, along with his teammates, it impressed me. Not enough for me to become a big fan but enough to at least respect him more. That may be a direct result of Coach K taking the time to let this team explore who they are as Americans and understand who and what they were representing while in Beijing. The two most moving medal stand images to me were Natalie Coughlin (swimming) and Kerri Walsh (beach volleyball). Natalie stood there proudly, singing, being moved to tears and calmly wiped her eyes at the end of the anthem…it was simple yet moving. Kerri also stood there proudly with her partner Misty May- Treanor, but with Kerri, you could tell she wanted to sing, and even started to, but couldn’t get out but a few words before she needed a deep breath to collect the emotions which surely were overwhelming her at the time.

No one but those individuals knows how they were feeling or if this is what was really going on, but that is how I saw it from home.

I think many people in this country need to watch this video and then see if they will sing the words correctly or with a different type of emotion next time. As for Brad and Jessica, I hope there isn’t a next time that I have to be subjected to that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsq7frSB5Q

so the Olympic committee here in Vancouver went after a Pizza store owner a year ago to block him from displaying the Olympic rings and the name 'Olympia Pizza' on his store front. They went so far as to take him to court to block the use of the name they say they've trademarked. Thing is, he's been in business here locally for more than 15 yrs. Eventually the hubub died down and the last i heard on the news last night, he had hired a lawyer and was ready to take it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada... it was suddenly dropped, and he's not heard back from them since.

After this little shake up, the governing body chose to Trademark certain words, phrases and names for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, including Sea to Sky (which is what we call our highway from Vancouver to Whistler), and the latest being 'With Glowing Hearts'.

now, any Canadian knows where those words come from. Or should know... one would hope!

With Glowing hearts we see thee rise
our true North, strong and free
and from far and wide, Oh Canada
we stand on guard for thee

yep. Our national anthem. They've trademarked our National Anthem to the Olympic committee!

sucks. thats all i can say. well, i can say more, but it'd be expletives, and just one long incredible rant... so i wont.

All of this actually reminds me of a similarly traumatic era, one that has scarred my family and no doubt millions of others as we try to come to terms with our tragic, shared past: the re-election of John Howard in 2004. At this dawn of a new Dark Age, poor Mum, after much indefatigable campaigning for the Greens, could only find recourse for her pent up disillusionment by making pies. Lots of pies. As you can imagine, this made me happy, especially when they were cheese pies. But Mummy's anguish still impacted on my Last Exile-infatuated Year 8 Smoothie Brain enough to write her a song, or rather, re-write a universally-loathed and unfortunately ubiquitous song to reflect the terror and economic rationalism of Howard's prolonged reign...

Obey America Fair

Australians all let us extort,

for we must fund the war:

It matters not whose war it is;

As long as there's blood and gore;

Our PM lusts for omnipotence

and we bow to foreign rule;

Let's slash the tax, and never look back,

Obey America Fair!

Let democracy die and kill free speech,

Obey America Faiiiiiir!

Sung in my screechy faux choir girl voice I thought it was rather effective and jaunty. Of course, it's slightly less relevant now than it was, but maybe in a few years when the Kevin '11 Brigade has rolled past and Mum once again commits herself to the kitchen in the service of pastry creation, I will take up pen and paper once more to write Driving Brendan Spare, or perhaps You Don't Care (you smarmy hypocritical Queenslanderous bureaucrat), and then This Isn't Fair! when I appear in court over libel charges. W00t.

Indian National Anthem

The song Jana Gana Mana, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of lndia on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza consists of the full version of the national anthem. It reads:

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Punjab-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava shubha name jage
Tava shubha ashish maange
Gahe tava jaya-gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he !

Playing time of the full version of the National Anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approx. 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions. The following is Tagore's English rendering of this stanza:

How can you respect your Nation if you cannot respect your National Anthem. RESPECT YOUR NATIONAL ANTHEM, RESPECT YOUR NATION.

It looks shabby, I think. That's because I had to rip stuff off and reglue a lot. Gah. Spongebob was also in my head...oh yeah because my sister kept playing Spongebob clips on Neopets. Grrr. I can't believe people still like Neopets. And that they shamelessly promote other things on their site. As if it were a Neopets thing. And her Neopet is uglier than my Neopet. Yes, I have a Neopet, but it hasn't eaten since fourth grade.

It's fun to do fashion designs for Ernest, but I need more ideas. I've got a Prince Philip (Sleeping Beauty)costume for the photoshoot, Batman, which will end up being a weird stew of all the Batmans, I think, and a speedo. (I'm considering a star-spangled banner pattern. By the way, this cafeteria man on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader didn't know the lyrics to the National Anthem. We should pie him. With Sweeney Todd's pies. Also, the winter solstice is on December 21st, the day Sweeney Todd came out. Which means this year, my turn to do the layout for the Youth Forum is also December 21st. And, the trailer for Public Enemies comes out on Christmas! What a delightful present. I feel like Little Bobby from my English essay. What a long parentheses thingy this has been! I was playing Six Degrees with everything in my life at the moment.) It's fun to draw Ernest designs because he's just a rectangle. Huzzah for simplicity. DING! A Borat style swimsuit? Gross...

Ugh! What smells like rat? Ewww sudden dead frozen rat smell infestation in my house.

He isn't, uh,uh,uh so, uh,uh,uh eloquent, uh,uh,uh without his, uh,uh, teleprompter to, uh,uh,uh tell him what to, uh,uh,uh, say.

btw, I'm sure that mother is so proud Ochavez had no idea whose bracelet he was wearing. Although, not remembering a fallen soldiers names should not suprise anyone. This is the same guy who demeans flag pins and won't even acknowledge the national anthem.

Next to political commercials the thing I hate most about an election year is the preposterous e-mails you receive.  Consider exhibit A (found in my inbox this morning):

Hot on the heels of his explanation for why he no longer wears a flag pin, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was forced to explain why he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.

According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171,

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

'As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides,' Obama said. 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.'

This obvious spoof (see Snopes' explanation) is still circulated as truth.

Because some people are gullible and believe everything they read, it gains wide-spread acceptance.  In fact, I had a reasonably well-informed person share with me recently that he had heard (and apparently believed) Obama is the "Anti-christ."

This kind of foolishness helps nothing.  Fallacious arguments, fabrications, and ad hominem attacks weaken your position, no matter how right or good. Unfortunately, as long as there are people, there will be this kind of idiocy.  It reminds me of a quote, "Every time they make something idiot proof, someone goes and invents a better idiot."

The times we live in call for critical thinking and discerning minds. Especially among followers of Christ.

One final note, this example happened to be about Obama, but it works both ways.  (Interestingly, the top two "Hottest Urban Legends" on Snopes are Obama and Sarah Palin.)  Either way, it's foolishness.

Now the last time I looked the National Anthem, English or French versions, it/they belonged to the Canadian people, which in turn mean we the people are the copyright and trademark holders, if any. Further to my understanding, anyone can use portions thereof without fear of reprisal unless of course VANOC has its way, at least commercially leading up to and during the 2010 Olympics.

“O Canada” was originally sung on June 24, 1880 and 100 years later on July 1, 1980 was proclaimed Canada’s national anthem. The music was composed by well-know composer, Calixa Lavallée with the French lyrics written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. While there were many English versions written throughout history, the English version, written in 1908 by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir with recommended changes by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons in 1968 became the official English version, as we know it today. The French Lyrics for “O Canada” remain unaltered from its original version.

As reported by Susan Lazaruk in the Province News, “VANOC said the trademark is to protect against commercial entities trying to capitalize on the motto.” I find the latter to be a total hypocrisy as VANOC in itself is a commercial entity.

Research shows that “O Canada” is in the public domain, meaning it can be used by anyone as he or she likes without fear of reprisal by VANOC if used for marketing purposes by any other entity leading up to and during the Olympic Games. Void of course of the Olympic Rings and a disclaimer that use of the words, “With Glowing Hearts” for marketing purposes is not in conjunction with nor related to the Olympics.

As stated by David Cobb, vice-president of marketing and communications for the committee, in an article by, Stephanie Levitz, THE CANADIAN PRESS “…the slogan won't be used to sell goods, though sponsors for the Games have the ability to use it as part of their deal with the organizing committee.” ”…the committee's "use of the motto in no way changes how these words can be used by Canadians or how Canadians enjoy the national anthem as a whole or the specific phrases," organizers said in a statement.”

“We chose words that are cherished by all of us, words that we believe in," John Furlong, the chief executive officer of the organizing committee of the Olympics, announced Thursday.

As Levitz pointed out, “It's not the first time a line from the anthem has been seized for broader purposes.” “The Conservatives revamped the official government website in 2006 using the phrase "true north strong and free" on the welcome banner.” Unlike VANOC, I noted that the aforementioned phrase is void of the trademark symbol ™, leaving me to believe that at least some portions of the “true north strong and free” still exits.

Apparently, a small store in Stratford, Ont., called, "With Glowing Hearts", will not be affected since they do not sell anything related to the Games according to Olympic organizers. That then reverts to the issue of VANOC vs. Vancouver based, Olympia Restaurant in 2004, which only sells souvlaki dinners or pizza, neither being exactly sports related products.

Olympia had used both its name and the Olympic style rings as part of its store logo and marketing since 1993 and had not come under fire until Vancouver won the rights to host the 2010 games. Like the small business in Stratford Ont., “With Glowing Hearts”, Olympia Restaurant in Vancouver, which does not sell Olympic related items and has had its name and logo 10 years prior to Vancouver being awarded the 2010 games, was not allotted the same hassle free courtesy.

As a Canadian I am proud that we are hosting the 2010 games and the opportunity to show the world what we as Canadians have to offer. Like John Furlong I too cherish the words’ “With Glowing hearts”, but I also cherish the fact those words are part of our National Anthem and the property of every Canadian. Personally, I draw the line at John Furlong and VANOC trying to impose its own set of rules that seemingly supersede the rights of Canadians be it individuals or established businesses in the name of the 2010 Olympics as to what we can and cannot use in respect to Public Domain properties and business marketing options.

Allan Herman, Creative Visual Marketing Services Incorporated (CVM Inc.)

Jana Gana Mana written in Sanskritised Bengali, it is the first of five stanzas of a Brahmo hymn composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

It was first sung at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress,on 27 December 1911. Jana Gana Mana was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950. The music for the “current version” is said to be derived from a composition for the song by Ram Singh Thakur, although some dispute this.

A formal rendition of the national anthem takes about forty-eight to fifty-two seconds.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization)

Announces INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM as the BEST National Anthem in the World.