New lyrics needed for our National Anthem

[Rageneau]

The Republicans and Bush have made it necessary to modify the words to our National Anthem in order for it to continue to be an honest reflection of what America stands for.

The first three verses are still okay -- nothing wrong with 'bombs bursting in air, our flag was still there', etc. The problem arises at the end, when the Anthem switches to the inquisitive mode and asks:

"O, say, does that Star-spangled Banner still wave -- o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

Obviously, those last words no longer apply to the wire-tapped, sheepish, scared-of-their-own-shadows Americans of today. Maybe yesterday, but not today. Thanks to Bush, we are no longer free, and due to our own (national) cowardice, we are no longer brave, either.

So, in honor of the Republican Party and all it has done for the USA, I submit the following modifications to that last line:

"O, say, does that Star-spangled Banner still wave -- o'er the home of well-regulated, and the land of the properly behaved?"

Either that, or we stop skip singing that last verse alltogether, as it certainly no longer applies to the America of today.

[rzemanfl]

1. What we need is a new country. I will move to the first state that

secedes, even if I freeze my ass off.

[CrispyQ]

3. With global warming that won't be an issue!

;)

[Bluerthanblue]

4. well, maybe

rather than secede, we need to 'divorce'.
NH was 'chosen' as the 'Free-state' beginning by the Libertarian's- (but i'm not a convert, or fan)-
One thing we granite staters DO have that is kind of .... 'odd' is the fact that it is actually written into our state constitution, that we have the right to revolt, if the nation becomes revolting.
I believe we are the only state with that 'right' written into our constitution.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. The Star Spangled Banner is perfect for the Junta

The first verse is all flag-waving glory; the other three verses are pretty grim and fit right in with the Junta's mentality.

The second verse is all about the enemy now laying dead at the base of the flag.

The third verse describes how the naysayers have all been purged.

The fourth is a praise to (the Christian, of course) God for all the death and destruction along with a statement of Manifest Destiny to conquer. (Verse four, by the way, is where we got the motto, "In God We Trust.")

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Retrieved from http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner

[lindisfarne]

5. Well hell don't let the fundies know about that 4th verse or we'll be

suffering through it.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

6. Very nice, but you forget that last line of the first verse:

Play Ball.

[Lady Effingbroke]

7. I thought it was "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"

[rzemanfl]

8. No, it's "Play ball." n/t

[ProudDad]

9. A friend of mine already wrote better words

http://www.fiskemusic.com/earthanthem/index.html

O say can we see
By the one light in all
Our Earth to embrace
At the call of all nations

Where our children can play
In a world without war
Where we stand hand in hand
In the grace of creation

Where the rivers run clean
Through the forests of green
Where the cities stand tall
In the clear skies of freedom

O say do our hearts sing
For harmony and love forever
On the planet of our birth
Blessed with peace on Earth

Stephen Fiske 2002