Patriotism is a sticky mine field. No one wants to be accused of not being a patriot . . . especially during an election year in which both sides are divided and holding up a “patriot” litmus test to prove who is more “red, white, and blue”. It is un-American to not be patriotic. What is more patriotic than proclaiming one’s love and loyalty by singing the national anthem? Nothing! At least that is what one would think when it comes to the recent uproar surrounding country singer Ingrid Andress’ singing of the national anthem at the Major League Baseball’s annual home run derby. According to all the reports surrounding her performance . . . she butchered it. But let’s be honest . . . the national anthem is a notoriously difficult song to be sung by anyone.
Someone once said that when it comes to listening to people sing the national anthem that everyone should “cover your heart and hold your ears.” The difficulty arises out of the fact that there are a remarkable range between the high and low notes . . . the song spans one-and-a-half octaves. Those inclined to sing it must carefully choose what key they want to sing it in. If it starts out wrong, it can lead to a disastrous finish. Throw in there that figuring out when to breathe while singing it is challenging. Plus, the lyrics can easily trip people up . . . that is probably why most people often hum the parts they can’t remember. Whatever the case, the national anthem is a difficult song to sing . . . for anyone!
Like any history, the national anthem comes with a lot of baggage. Defence of Fort M’Henry is a poem written by Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry from a British vessel during the War of 1812. The fort was bombarded for 25 hours and at the end of it the British had failed. Witnessing the flag flying over the fort and the apparent American victory, Key was inspired and wrote his epic poem. The poem was set to a popular English tune, The Anacreontic Song, and soon it became a popular song among the patriots of our young nation. But it was not until March 4, 1931, that it would become officially recognized as the national anthem of the United States. That was the date that President Herbert Hoover signed it into law.
Throughout its long and storied history, it has been embraced, cursed, and debated. Besides its difficulty in singing, there is a lot of debate about whether it should be the national anthem due to the fact that many see it as racist. That argument pretty much kept it from being the national anthem for nearly a century. Where is the argument . . . well, we Americans only sing the first verse of the song. The song is four verses long. FOUR! People struggle to sing one verse, imagine having to sing four verses. In the later verses there are references about slaves and freeman. Key was a slave owner. The argument and debate rage on. Is it racist? Probably, but it fits the time in which it was written.
A part of that history is the behavior associated with the anthem . . . you know, how a person is to react and act towards it. Surprisingly when it was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its playing. By 1942 the law was revised to tell folks exactly what was expected of them and their behavior around the anthem . . . some uniformity was established. Those in uniform would stand and salute, others were to stand at attention, men were to remove their hats, and women were to pace their hands over their hearts. It was revised again six months later . . . men and women were to stand at attention and face in the direction of the music. In the year 1976 . . . another revision; then again in 1998. Basically, the law now reads that during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present including those in uniform should stand at attention, non-military should face the flag with their right hand over their hearts, military and veterans should salute, all should remove their hats, and stay that way until the final note.
As a military brat, I grew up with this expectation. One of the silly things I remember about growing up on a military base was the base theater. Going to a movie at the base theater was a lesson in civics and standing for the national anthem. At the start of every movie experience at the base theater the national anthem was played. There in the darkness I remember standing with all the other patrons, hand upon my heart, facing the screen where a flowing American flag was shown as the anthem was playing. It was hard to explain to my non-military friends. I can remember being told to “sit down” when I went to my first civilian, off base movie theater. I jumped up as the house lights went down, placed my hand over my heart and waited for the first note of the anthem. I thought the national anthem was played before every movie no matter where the movie was playing.
We Americans are nonchalant in our behavior towards the national anthem. We are laissez-faire in our response and behavior when it is being played. Which brings up another pet peeve I have about observing our national anthem at events. At just about every single event the announcer states: “Let us rise for the playing of our national anthem.” RISE!! Whenever I hear that statement, I picture people floating a couple inches off the ground. People can’t rise . . . they can stand. Please stand for the national anthem. It is difficult to take the national anthem seriously when picturing a hundred thousand people floating above their seats in a stadium. I know, I know . . . I need to get over it. It isn’t ever going to change.
All this is beside the point. The point is that Ingrid Andress took a beating for her recent attempt at singing the national anthem. People were mean to her even though she apologized and admitted that she had been drunk. In fact, she even explained that she was going to admit herself into rehab. She canceled concerts she had scheduled to go into rehab. That is a big price to pay for screwing up her opportunity to sing on national television the national anthem. Others before her who made a mess of the anthem did not pay such a heavy price for their screw ups. If they had the rehab places would be filled!
The national anthem is hard . . . hard to sing. I don’t blame her for having a few beers before singing the song. I would. Everyone knows that after a few beers everything is better . . . even singing. I know that I am a lousy crooner, but after a few beers I am Luciano Domingo and can sing with the best of them. Those around me might not agree, but . . . hey! Maybe the crowd needed a few beers before she sang. They might have heard it differently. Liquid courage is almost the American way. Ingrid probably said, “Here, hold my beer.” Then boldly stepped out and began singing.
Come on! She is not the first person ever to bomb while singing the national anthem. There were many others before her who stupidly and boldly went where no sane person would ever go and attempted to sing the national anthem. Look at this list of illustrious failures from over the years: Roseanne Barr in 1990; Carl Lewis in 1993; Fergie in 2018; R. Kelly; Chaka Kahn in 2020; Michael Bolton in 2003; Steven Tyler in 2001; and Cyndi Lauper. Maybe drinking might have helped a few of them in their attempts . . . maybe not. Here are two parodies that epitomize how difficult the national anthem can be to sing: Saturday Night Live in 2014 and The Naked Gun in 1988. Ingrid Andress wasn’t the first person ever to butcher the national anthem, nor will she be the last. We all do it. That’s why we hum it.
I will admit that the song can be sung and sung well, but it is a rare individual who can pull it off. I would say that Whitney Houston in 1991 did an excellent job . . . some say that it is the best-ever rendition of the song. But she wasn’t under a lot of pressure—or maybe she was—because she did a lip sync of the song that she recorded earlier. She wanted to make sure she didn’t mess it up. Still, it is a classic. At Super Bowl 50 (2015) and then later at the inauguration of Biden in 2020, Lady Gaga did a great job. Shoot . . . even Taylor Swift at game 2 of 2008 World Series sings a respectable version of the anthem for her beloved Philadelphia Phillies. Yes, it can be done, but not by us mere mortals . . . and most of us are mere mortals.
Kudos to that minute minority with the ability to pull off the national anthem . . . you are few and far between. For everyone else—especially Ingrid Andress—let’s cut ourselves a little slack. It is okay to hum and still be a patriot. Americans have been doing it forever . . . well, at least since 1932. So, to stick with the tradition . . . let us rise, cover our hearts and hold our ears . . . it is our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner . . . verse one only because that is all we know!
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