Mitt Romney Wants to Ruin "America The Beautiful" For You (Video)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 2:52PM
Why are you doing this to me, man?* Why are you doing this to yourself?
Mitt Romney won't stop singing/ruining "America, the Beautiful," one of the best and most beloved songs from the Great American Songbook. I think he thinks singing it constantly looks patriotic rather than pandering and pathetic. But if you're going to turn every campaign stop into Country Bear Jamboree you need to actually be competent in carrying a tune.
While "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the National Anthem, my favorite patriotic song about America is and has always been the much easier to sing, less war-like and considerably more melodic "America, the Beautiful."
Like "Star-Spangled," "America" also has about five extra verses I've never learned, but it's my number one favorite patriotic jam, followed closely by "Battle Hymn of the Republic." (Which, in all actuality, is simply the best version of another American folk song "John Brown's Body.")
Then there's Ray Charles' legendary gospel version of "America, the Beautiful" that makes you almost wish it was the National Anthem. So, you'd think there'd be no way to mess it up. It's simple. Its most popular verse is easy to remember. It's hopeful and bright. Not like "Star-Spangled," a song so complicated it can render even the most celebrated singers not named Whitney Houston (early 90s edition) incompetent.
Enter Mitt Romney, destroying my favorite conflation of music and history. Why, Mittens? Why? Was it because President Obama teased us with some Al Green? Is this some twisted game of "Everything Obama can do, Mitt can do worse?"
Apologize for those who were able to listen to the whole thing. Please listen to this example of "How Mariah Carey became so rich and famous" as a palette cleanser.
* Did I mention I'm a not-so-secret Great American Songbook nerd? It was one of the few things my public school education did extremely right. I know a crazy amount of American folk songs and their histories, from Negro Spirituals to folk songs about the labor movement to minstrel songs like "De Camptown Races." As a small child my favorite of these songs was the same favorite of many Civil War, Confederacy apologists, "Dixie," which I played on the piano and sang out-loud, without irony, in our house all the time. I eventually transitioned to "Battle Hymn of the Republic," which was written by an abolitionist. Of course, as a child I didn't understand the political context of these songs, I just liked them. And to the credit of the people who raised me, neither of my parents had a problem with this and did not suggest that I play something else.
Honestly though, "Dixie" is just incredibly catchy and easy to sing when you're five. The National Negro Anthem, "Lift E'ry Voice and Sing," (which once upon a time I knew every verse of), was not as easy to play on the piano, but I loved it too. I love it all pretty much unapologetically.
Take it away, Elvis!
Reader Comments (1)
I have to agree: The Confederacy did have a catchier theme song than the Union. Very upbeat and perky.
Then again, the Nazis definitely had the snazziest uniforms in WWII. You got to give them that.