Favorite potential US national anthem

Which is your favorite?

  • America the Beautiful

    Votes: 23 43.4%
  • Hail, Columbia

    Votes: 12 22.6%
  • The Star-Spangled Banner

    Votes: 7 13.2%
  • The Stars and Stripes Forever

    Votes: 11 20.8%

  • Total voters
    53

BP Booker

Banned
While Im quite partial to the tune of Battle Hymn, it doesent really strike me as an "anthem" song, you cant really see it being sung by 10,000 people at a baseball game, and more importantly, the lyrics have nothing to do with America, her history or her people. If you didnt already know the history of the hymn, you would have no idea it was about America.

America the Beautiful is truely awe inspiring, so I would go with that one, and Honestly Star Spangled is a great song, It would be nice however, if people sung it more as a choir at official events

Yankee Doodle is also a good one, despite some... questionable lyrics, and it being apparently really hard to play for bands
 
Last edited:
"This Land is Your Land" and "God Bless America" would both be be better national anthems than any of the four choices listed, but neither had been written when "The Star Spangled Banner" was adopted as the national anthem. An interesting AHC thread would be what it would take for a new American national anthem to be adopted. Once these things are set they seem pretty much impossible to alter, though I think "the Star Spangled Banner" was a terrible choice.

I did not know "The Stars and Stripes Forever" had lyrics. Now that I know that it does, it would be my choice out of the four listed.
 
America the Beautiful ...no has a god.
Hail Colombia....that's another country.
Star Spangled Banner...I get goose bumps, but drop the rarely used second stanza.
Stars and Stripes Forever.... Rousing tune, dopey lyrics.
 
I amuse myself sometimes by imagining a world where the Second Reich survives with Heil Dir In Seigeskrantz as its anthem, and then some butterfly causes the US to adopt My Country 'Tis Of Thee. Come the next Olympics we have the same tune played for three different countries.
 
Where is The Battle Cry of Freedom? It would be good anthem with small changes.
THE UNION FOREVER, HURRAH BOYS HURRAH!
DOWN WITH THE TRAITORS, AND UP WITH THE STAR!

I think it's the best choice if you want a truly rousing "let's kill all the nation's enemies" anthem, like France or Italy.
 
My funny answer is the last verse and chorus of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes.

Serious answer: anything but the Star Spangled Banner. That octave drop in the first bar is a killer and the range needed to make the low notes in the beginning and the high notes in the middle puts it out of reach of most singers, which is why most people sound terrible when singing it.
 
My funny answer is the last verse and chorus of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes.

Serious answer: anything but the Star Spangled Banner. That octave drop in the first bar is a killer and the range needed to make the low notes in the beginning and the high notes in the middle puts it out of reach of most singers, which is why most people sound terrible when singing it.

Agree. Current anthem is not very workable as anthem. And probably worst alternate would be The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Good song but it not really fit as anthem. It not sounds very good when is singed by hunders of people and it is too religious song.
 
Personally, of the four choices given, I'm partial to Hail, Columbia since it was our original, if unofficial, anthem. It's also got some good lyrics.

Battle Cry of Freedom, maybe with some small lyrical changes, would be my favorite choice. If I wanted something less rousing and more majestic, I would go for Chester, with a couple minor lyrical changes.
 
Queen... what about ‘We are the Champions’...
For that to be in consideration in 1931, Freddy Mercury would have to be a Time Queen.:openedeyewink:
The International?
What about "As Time Goes By"?:openedeyewink:

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime"?

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"?

"America"? (Neil Diamond)

"In America"? (CDB)

On a more serious note..."Aura Lee"? (Listen to the soundtrack of Burns' "Civil War".)
 
Last edited:
Top