If America had to choose a new National Anthem, what would you pick?

[Deja Q]

"I Touch Myself" by the Divinyls. :evilgrin: "It's all about me" is the theme of the song and it sums up how the pukes are controlling things.

[Ilsa]

1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. n/t

[kcwayne]

3. Money for nothing

[GOPisEvil]

2. "Money" by Pink Floyd.

That is the perfect anthem for the current misadministration...

However, to answer un-smartassedly, I like America the Beautiful. :-)

[Born_a_Democrat]

4. "Can I Play with Madness" by Iron Maiden

I think it suits the current administration quite nicely

[TennesseeWalker]

5. "Man of Constant Sorrow"

from the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Depression era stuff seems pretty appropriate right now.

Great movie, by the way....check it out if you haven't seen it. George Clooney KICKS ASS.

[ArkDem]

61. Man of Constant Sorrow

first published in 1913 by Richard Burnett.

[SoCalDem]

6. Bad Moon Risin'

:(

[HawkerHurricane]

7. Dare to be Stupid

By 'Weird Al' Yankovic.

Seriously, 'American Dream', I don't know who by...

[Syrinx]

8. Comfortably Numb?

[Cocoa]

9. Living in the U.S.A.,

Steve Miller Band.

it would be fun at ballgames, everyone yelling "somebody get me a cheeseburger!"

[Davis_X_Machina]

10. "We Shall Overcome"

Easy to sing, known all over the world, and comes with a great backstory.

[ForrestGump]

11. Situational: "Political Science," by Randy Newman. Traditional:

"America, The Beautiful." Way better as a song than the curent national anthme, and more likely to fit the vocal range than the "Star Spangled Banner." There're only about three people on Earth who can hit all the notes in today's anthem, and the lyrics are a mess and hard to remember - counterintuitive, at least to me and to Frank Drebin.

Or "American Trilogy," with the only official version being one of Elvis' live renditions. :D

[ornotna]

12. Iris Dement - Wasteland of the Free n/t

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. Absolutely.

What a great song.

[Syrinx]

42. I love Iris

But wish she'd be more prolific!

[HEyHEY]

13. It's a letterman joke but....

Everybody have fun tonight!

[SaveABug]

14. Oh, Canada

yep

[HEyHEY]

16. The French version

hehe

[TennesseeWalker]

24. "Blame Canada"

[Dirk39]

15. I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?

The artists' name is Bush. That's all I know, I'm innocent:-)
Greetings from Germany,
Dirk

[TrogL]

17. Queen

We will rock you

[democracyindanger]

18. This Land Is Your Land

nt

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

31. I second that... and keep the original "commie" verses

[pfitz59]

45. Thats the ticket!

First song that came to mind!

[Section_43]

20. "You're So Vein"

nt

[maxanne]

21. on a serious, hopeful note

I'd choose "This Land is Your Land"- which has always seemed a far better choice than that awful crap we have now.

Billy Bragg's song "No Power Without Accountability" would work well for me, too.

[Snow]

28. Ya know Guthrie wrote that in

particular and deliberate protest against the Jingoist National Anthem, "God Bless America". Look up the full lyrics sometime. I like the part about the two sides of the sign......

[AntiCoup2K4]

38. An additional bit of Woody Guthrie trivia...

The original title of the song was an even more blatant slam at the Freeper anthem. It was titled "God Blessed America For Me"

Here's how the lyrics originally read.....


This Land Was Made For You And Me

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,
God blessed America for me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And saw above me that endless skyway,
And saw below me the golden valley, I said:
God blessed America for me.

I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,
And all around me , a voice was sounding:
God blessed America for me.

Was a high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property,
But on the back side it didn't say nothing --
God blessed America for me.

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling;
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting:
God blessed America for me.

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the Relief Office I saw my people --
As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering if
God blessed America for me.

Works just as well either way, in my opinion. But maybe Woody wanted to make the right wingers think a little more, so he changed the obvious title to one slightly more subtle.....

http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/3448/guthrie.html

[Snow]

59. Slightly different version about the sign,,,,,

goes like so..

Was a high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property,
But on the back side it didn't say nothing --
That side was made for you and me.

Guthrie did a lot of rewrites.

[Nailzberg]

22. Institutionalized

All I wanted was a Pepsi

[CanuckAmok]

41. Doesn't matter...I'll probably just get hit by a car anyway! n/t

[lazarus]

23. on a serious note

"America the Beautiful" is a great song that glorifies the country, instead of our present anthem, which is the only national anthem about war.

[HawkerHurricane]

39. I don't know about that

Ours may be the only one talking about rockets and bombs, but doesn't the French anthem speak of 'making the streets of Paris run red with the blood of the enemies of France'?
Sounds pretty violent.

I like Australia's though, it's about a man hung for stealing sheep...

[lazarus]

48. honestly

I don't know the lyrics, I've just always heard ours is the only anthem that glorifies war.

When it comes to pure musical beauty, I actually have to say I like the old Soviet anthem. Impressive as hell. Oh, Canada is nice, too.

[Cheswick2.0]

52. you might want to change your mind

There seems to be an awful lot of God in that Hymn

Oh 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!


Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet
Who's 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!


Oh 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!


Oh 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!

[SmileyBoy]

25. "America, The Beautiful".

The official version would be the first two verses (including the line with "thine alabaster cities gleam..."). We would sing the first two verses for Olympic medal ceremonies and before sporting events.

[Ladyhawk]

26. I think we need to take ourselves less seriously

and use some Monty Python ditty like:

1. The Lumberjack Song
2. Knights of the Round Table
3. Every Sperm is Sacred

or maybe one of the following:

1. 99 Dead Baboons
2. Boot to the Head

[George_Bonanza]

27. I think God Bless America is the most beautiful of all American folk songs

[Snow]

29. Oh, my Lord!

Please, dig into the history of this a bit! It's not a folk song, it's a deliberate appeal to demogogery. See the bit about Woodie Guthrie, above, and the period when both songs were written.

[Aristus]

30. Gawd Blay-ess 'Murikkka!

That's the only way I can think of that phrase nowadays.

Going for an obscure one now: How about the anthem of the Japanese corporation in the original "Rollerball"? Beautiful Japanese theme.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

35. That is sarcastic, right?

Just checking before my head explodes.

[Snow]

62. Whew! Glad you caught that!

I am not good at picking up on sarcasm & other subtleties (as my spouse is fond of reminding me).

[Susang]

32. This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

But all of the verses, not just the two or three that they teach you in school.

[Midwest_Doc]

57. I second that!

The obvious choice, thanks for suggesting it.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

33. US Blues by the Grateful Dead

I am Uncle Sam,
That's who I am.
Been hidin out
In a rock and roll band

Shake the hand
That shook the hand
of PT Barnum and Charlie Chan


et cetera...

[dudeness]

34. "whip it" DEVO

n/t

[BeHereNow]

36. "Chemical Warfare" DKs

No question in my mind-
Jello Biafra was a prophet!
BN

[psychopomp]

55. Even better... "We've got a Bigger Problem Now"

and update it for Dumbya.
From DK's "In God We Trust, Inc."

Last call for alcohol.
Last call for your freedom of speech.
Drink up. Happy hour is now enforced by law.
Don't forget our house special, it's called a Trickie Dickie Screwdriver.
It's got one part Jack Daniels, two parts purple Kool-Aid,
and a jigger of formaldehyde
from the jar with Hitler's brain in it we got in the back storeroom.
Happy trails to you. Happy trails to you.

I am Emperor Ronald Reagan
Born again with fascist cravings
Still, you made me president

Human rights will soon go 'way
I am now your Shah today
Now I command all of you
Now you're going to pray in school
I'll make sure they're Christian too

California Uber alles
Uber alles California

Ku Klux Klan will control you
Still you think it's natural
N*@@*r knockin' for the master race
Still you wear the happy face

You closed your eyes, can't happen here
Alexander Haig is near
Vietnam won't come back you say
Join the army or you will pay

California Uber alles
Uber alles California

Yeah, that's it. Just relax.
Have another drink, few more pretzels, little more MSG.
Turn on those Dallas Cowboys on your TV.
Lock your doors. Close your mind.
It's time for the two-minute warning.

Welcome to 1984
Are you ready for the third world war?!?
You too will meet the secret police
They'll draft you and they'll jail your niece

You'll go quitely to boot camp
They'll shoot you dead, make you a man
Don't you worry, it's for a cause
Feeding global corporations' claws

Die on our brand new poison gas
El Salvador or Afghanistan
Making money for President Reagan
And all the friends of President Reagan

California Uber alles
Uber alles California

[TroubleMan]

37. if whistle ass continues....

his environmental policies, because of global warming, our theme song might be:

"It's Getting Hot In Here" by Nellie

(btw, I hate that song, but love the original Chuck Brown song "Bustin' Loose")

[CanuckAmok]

40. Wango Tango! n/t

[SOteric]

43. Louie, Louie, -oh oh oh we gotta go; - whoa, oh oh oh yeah...

Oops. Sorry. Guess that's Washington state.

[leftofthedial]

44. why don't we get drunk and screw

Jimmy Buffet

[JVS]

46. "In the Ghetto" by Elvis

[laconicsax]

47. I think it's the overture

from Stan Freeburg's "The United States of America"

I can't find my recording so I'm not entirely sure which song it is from it.

[maveric]

49. Free Bird

"Play Some Skynard!!"

[Spider Jerusalem]

50. "America Is", by the Violent Femmes.

Sample lyrics:

"Look at the Indians
Look at the blacks
Check out the figures
And check out the facts
Check out the facts,
The facts not the lies
And you're gonna find out
A big surprise...
That America is the home of the hypocrite
The American Dream's so full full full of it"

[Best_man23]

51. In A Gadda Da Vida

Would have to come up with a short version, though.

[psychopomp]

53. Master of Puppets - Metallica

Think of the kick ass medal ceremonies we would have at the Olympics! The sheeple would never get the irony, though.

[bicentennial_baby]

56. I'm with you on that one!

Now there's a medal ceremony I could watch!

[arwalden]

54. "Oh Yeah" (Yello) or "She Blinded Me With Science" (Thomas Dolby)

[Hubert Flottz]

58. The Banana Boat Song!

For Banana Republicans In A Banana Republic!

[bigendian]

60. America the Beautiful by Ray Charles. n/t

:kick:

[noonwitch]

63. I love "America the Beautiful"

I hate "The Star-Spangled Banner", not just for it's war imagery, but because it is so damn hard to sing if you have a limited vocal range. "America the Beautiful" does have one God reference (but so does "O, Canada"), but it otherwise invokes an image of our nation's varying landscapes, and it's physical beauty.