Bush: National Anthem Should Be Sung in English

[Mr. Peabody]

:rolleyes Aren't there bigger issues in the world the president should be concerning himself with other than people singing our national anthem in their own language? This is one of those ridiculous issues where the president would have been well-served to stay above the fray. The fact that he even bothered responding to the issue is absurd.

Bush: National Anthem Should Be Sung in English
Friday , April 28, 2006

Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,193582,00.html)

WASHINGTON — The national anthem should be sung in English — not Spanish — President Bush declared Friday, amid growing restlessness over whether to grant legal status to immigrants who are in the United States illegally.

"One of the important things here is that we not lose our national soul," the president exclaimed.

A Spanish language version of the national anthem was released Friday by a British music producer, Adam Kidron, who said he wanted to honor America's immigrants.

When the president was asked at a Rose Garden question-and-answer session whether the anthem should be sung in Spanish, he replied: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English."

He made his remarks on the matters during a wide-ranging briefing with reporters.

"I think people who want to be citizens of this country ought to learn English," Bush said.

The president's comments came amid a burgeoning national debate — and congressional fight — over legislation pending in Congress, and pushed by Bush, to overhaul U.S. immigration law.

Bush called on lawmakers to move forward on legislation — now stalled — that would revamp immigration laws.

Large numbers of immigrant groups have planned an economic boycott next week to dramatize their call for legislation providing legal status for millions of people in the United States illegally.

"I am not a supporter of boycotts," Bush said. "I am a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform. ... I think that most Americans agree that we've got to enforce our border."

His remarks followed release of the Spanish language version of the song, called "Nuestro Himno" or "Our Anthem."

[boutons_]

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/gm/2006/gm060427.gif

[xrayzebra]

Only the anthem isn't being sung in their language, they changed
the words also. It is the United States of America National Anthem,
not the Mexican or any other language Anthem. Sing it it's original
form. We are not tribes we are suppose to be all Americans. Illegals
are not Americans, they are illegal aliens. And should be treated as
such.

Spanish whatever you call it. (English Translation follows
the Spanish "Our Anthem")

Lyrics to 'Nuestro Himno' ('Our Anthem')

Amanece, lo veis?, a la luz de la aurora?

lo que tanto aclamamos la noche al caer?

sus estrellas sus franjas

flotaban ayer

en el fiero combate

en señal de victoria,

fulgor de lucha, al paso de la libertad.

Por la noche decían:

"Se va defendiendo!"

Oh decid! Despliega aún

Su hermosura estrellada

sobre tierra de libres,

la bandera sagrada?

Sus estrellas, sus franjas,

la libertad. Somos iguales.

Somos hermanos. Es nuestro himno.

En el fiero combate en señal de victoria,

Fulgor de lucha

Mi gente sigue luchando

al paso de la libertad

Ya es tiempo de romper las cadenas.

Por la noche decían: "!Se va defendiendo!"

Oh decid! Despliega aún su hermosura estrellada

sobre tierra de libres,

la bandera sagrada?

English translation:

By the light of the dawn, do you see arising,

what we proudly hailed at twilight's last fall?

Its stars, its stripes

yesterday streamed

above fierce combat

a symbol of victory, the glory of battle

and the march toward liberty

Throughout the night, they proclaimed:

"We will defend it!"

Tell me! Does its starry beauty still wave

above the land of the free,

the sacred flag?

Its stars, its stripes,

liberty, we are the same.

We are brothers in our anthem.

In fierce combat, a symbol of victory

(My people fight on.)

and the struggle toward liberty.

(The time has come to break the chains.)

Throughout the night they proclaimed, "We will defend it!"

Tell me! Does its starry beauty still wave

above the land of the free,

the sacred flag?



Now you want to tell me it is our National Anthem? BS

[spurster]

Ha ha. Xray is an expert on song translation now.

You can't translate any kind of text simply word for word. Metaphors in one language need to be translated to metaphors in the other. You also want to maintain the rhyming and the meter.

[NASpurs]

Too much controversy from people who don't even know the national anthem word by word.

[xrayzebra]

Ha ha. Xray is an expert on song translation now.

You can't translate any kind of text simply word for word. Metaphors in one language need to be translated to metaphors in the other. You also want to maintain the rhyming and the meter.

I didn't, your friends at NPR furnished this information. Now
you tell me you don't trust you liberal buddies?
:lol

[Extra Stout]

I didn't, your friends at NPR furnished this information. Now
you tell me you don't trust you liberal buddies?
:lol
What spurster says is obviously true. Take "Silent Night" for example. Our version's lyrics don't say the same thing as the original German. It's virtually impossible to make a direct translation and still have it be a song.

It can't even be done for Chaucer's works, and that's just going from Middle English to Modern English. How intellectually lazy of you to blame that on "liberals."

But I agree with the President on this one. Our national anthem is meant to be sung in the language in which it was written.

[gameFACE]

I remember as a kid hearing the outrage at Lou Rawls singing the national anthem with a little R&B influctuation at the end of the song. He did it before a boxing match. Nowadays you hear all different kinds of interpretations of it. It's no longer heresy to do that. Probably the same thing will happen with the spanish version.

[boutons_]

The way national anthem has glitzed up and stylized for years by "divas" and diva wannabes, the national anthem is all about the singer, not about the song.

[baseline bum]

Who would have thought an English song being sung in English?

[xrayzebra]

But I agree with the President on this one. Our national anthem is meant to be sung in the language in which it was written.

Then what in the hell are you arguing about?

[Extra Stout]

Then what in the hell are you arguing about?
Your "point" about "changing the words." Duh.

[Ocotillo]

That was then, this is now.........

From Kevin Phillips book, American Dynasty :


When visiting cities like Chicago, Milwaukee or Philadelphia, in pivotal states, he (Bush) would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parites, sometimes joining in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Spanish, sometimes partying with a "Viva Bush" mariachi band flown in from Texas.

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

[Ocotillo]

there's more......

Oh the humanity of it all (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/02/spanish-anthem/)

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/spanishbook.jpg

The right wing is up in arms over a new version of the Star-Spangled Banner written in Spanish. Last week President Bush stated that “the national anthem ought to be sung in English.” Yesterday Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced a resolution requiring the Star-Spangled banner to be sung only in English:

That flag and that song are a part of our history and our national identity. … That’s why in 1931 Congress declared the Star-Spangled Banner our national anthem. That’s why we should always sing it in our common language, English.

In his press release, Alexander said the Star-Spangled Banner has “never before…been rendered in another language.”

But in 1919, the U.S. Bureau of Education commissioned a Spanish-language version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” The State Department’s website also features four-separate versions of the anthem in Spanish.

It appears xenophobia isn’t part of the American tradition.

Opportunist Lamar Alexander, please go slither back under the rock from whence you came.

[Nbadan]

Do as I say, not as I did...


http://drudgereport.com/bushm.jpg

Bush sang Star Spangled Banner en español during 2000 campaign
Wed May 03 2006 09:35:20 ET


"When visiting cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, or Philadelphia, in pivotal states, George W. Bush would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parties, sometimes joining in singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Spanish, sometimes partying with a “Viva Bush” mariachi band flown in from Texas."

Drudge (http://drudgereport.com/flash7.htm)

So writes author Kevin Phillips in his book AMERICAN DYNASTY.

Last week, at the height of the illegal immigrant's boycott build up, Bush told reporters: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English."

[SA210]

Do as I say, not as I did...


http://drudgereport.com/bushm.jpg

Bush sang Star Spangled Banner en español during 2000 campaign
Wed May 03 2006 09:35:20 ET



Drudge (http://drudgereport.com/flash7.htm)

So writes author Kevin Phillips in his book AMERICAN DYNASTY.

Last week, at the height of the illegal immigrant's boycott build up, Bush told reporters: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English."

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[Dos]

who cares what language it is sung in.... sheeeeesh...

[FromWayDowntown]

The quarrel in this forum is humorous to me. Many who vent about singing the Star Spangled Banner in the Spanish language don't appear to care much about properly writing anything in the English language.

[JoeChalupa]

Many english speaking Americans don't even know the all the words to the Star Spangled Banner.

[Ocotillo]

^^^^Jose can you see?

[JoeChalupa]

^^ D'OH!! :spin

[Nbadan]

Check this out, the WH comes up with an almost embarrassing cover story...


http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/rids/20060504/i/ra3442013960.jpg

Bush's Spanish "not that good"
2 hours, 37 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday disputed an account of President George W. Bush singing the U.S. national anthem in Spanish during the 2000 presidential campaign, saying his Spanish is not that good.

:lol

Critics have accused Bush of hypocrisy for opposing a Spanish language version of the anthem.

They pointed to a book called "American Dynasty" by Kevin Phillips, who wrote that Bush "would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parties, sometimes joining in singing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in Spanish."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the assertion did not ring true to him because, "The president speaks Spanish, but not that well."

Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060504/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_bush_spanish_2)

[Nbadan]

Hey, Isn't that Dubya doing his weekly radio show (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05/) in both English and Spanish in Cinco de Mayo 2001 trying to recapture latino voters who voted 2-1 for Al Gore?