by Fred Moleck
One Nation, Many Anthems
A couple of weeks ago I devoted the January 26 TableTalk to describing the inauguration ceremony of President Obama.I reported how impressed I was to hear the Rev. Joseph Lowery begin his benediction with “God of our weary years, / God of our silent tears, / Thou who has brought us thus far along the way.”
The lines are excerpts from “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” words by James Weldon Johnson and music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson.
The acclamation is the beginning of the third verse of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which had long been called the unofficial black national anthem.
I don’t remember how many times I’ve heard it sung, and, thanks to the hymnal for African American Catholics, Lead Me, Guide Me, I’ve been able to sing it, also.
What struck me the first time I heard it—as I sat quietly and tried to look as inconspicuous as I could at a Martin Luther King service at a college—was that everyone stood.
I thought it odd since we didn’t stand for any of the other songs. But, we stood for that one.
I felt conspicuous again.
Many groups stand to demonstrate their respect and express their witness to the life of the African Americans in the United States.
When the national anthem is played, but rarely sung any more, everyone stands. Everyone stands for the “Hallelujah” chorus from Messiah of George Frederick Handel.
Standing is always a posture for respect or protest. Here, it is respect.
I was pleased to see that President Obama and Mrs. Obama sang the national anthem while it was played. I was also pleased to the see a picture of them singing at the prayer service at Washington National Cathedral.
I was not pleased to see Mr. and Mrs. Biden standing beside them with mouths clenched shut.
Maybe with a new Congress and new enlightenment another attempt can be made to replace the national anthem with something that can be sung, that is familiar, and no one has to fight over the copyright.
“God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful” are universally known. Both are well in the average singer’s range. The words fit the music well.
“Stars and Stripes Forever,” though not sung, does elicit full participation, even though it is clapping. Folks love to clap.
If we can adopt either of the two suggestions, maybe we can regain our right and duty to sing them at public gatherings such as huge sporting events.
It is impossible to sing with a “celebrity” who “interprets” it according to his or her level of incompetence.
It is a personal dream of mine to see Congress declare one of those songs as the new national anthem. While they’re at it . . .
During the next wave of money from the Obama stimulus plan, maybe some of it can be used to institute a new position in the cabinet—Secretary of the Arts.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? We can only hope.
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@comcast.net