Word: anthem
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...been urged lately by some who, being of revolutionistic turn of mind, like to see any change, whatever it may be that we adopt "America" as our national anthem instead of the more martial song to which we now pay reverence. One reason set forth is that the "Star Spangled Banner" is well enough as an anthem in the bloody times of war, but in peace we need some more dulcet sentiment. Another is that "America" is well suited to the orchestration of the people's voices, whereas our present unlegalized national anthem is of too intricate a nature...
...misfortune with "America" as a national anthem is not that it is too intricate, nor too subtle, nor too martial. It partakes of all the grand simplicity of a Wesley hymn or a ballad of the people. The misfortune is that, like some other good things, it is not exclusively our own. In England it is known as "God save the king." And in the tuneful land of Germany the words people sing to it are "Heil dir im Siegerkranz, Herrscher des Volkes ganz." It would be somewhat of a pity if at some patriotic gathering Americans doffed their hats...
...certain that Keys' anthem will remain the battle song and the peace jubilation of our nation. For that some millions of our people will rejoice. It, like our ideals, is all American...
...care" attitude of the citizen who has never bothered to learn the national anthem, who looks on the flag merely as a holiday banner. Last Saturday the men in the Boston crowds who uncovered as the colors passed were exceptional. Hardly a voice was raised in protest against the hundreds who did not. Stupidly good-natured and lackadasical, they were there to see the glitter and color, to hear the bands play, and, quite naturally, to stare at Marshal Joffre. And in the midst of all the spirit of celebration, to the thousands who lined the streets the flag seemed...
...singing of a national anthem has so long been associated with patriotic devotion that its value to a state has become axiomatic. When the cave-men first banded together to enjoy community life, they surely selected some guttural sounds which signified that they were ever ready to defend that newly-formed union. And so in ancient, mediaeval and modern times, each country has had its stirring call to duty. No one can question the power which "La Marseillaise" or even "Deutschland Ueber Alles" have exerted over their respective peoples. The United States of America has selected the "Star Spangled Banner...