When the question comes up, “What was your first album?” I always say Touch by the Eurythmics.
But this is a lie.
My first album was a vinyl record of “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Seven-year-old me loved it. That song really did make my “heart beat true for the red, white, and blue.” These were the Reagan years, and I was young and innocent.
The bona fides of my early patriotism are quite impeccable — and somewhat humorous (at least in retrospect). My parents were not messing around. Once, at a Giants baseball game, my mom noticed that I did not know all the words to the National Anthem. When we got home, she confronted me and grounded me until I could sing every verse by heart.
It must have been my mom that encouraged my love of patriotic songs. I recall being dragged into town any time there was a parade with a marching band. She never lost her innocent patriotism, a fact I realized when she was about 70, and we shared a room overnight: in the wee hours of the morning, my mom, a notorious sleep talker, sat bolt upright in her bed, still asleep, and sang out, “You’re a grand old flag, you’re a high-flying flag, and forever in peace may you wave!”
My patriotism, on the other hand, has evolved. I am now more drawn to American protest songs than I am to reverential anthems. They seem more honest and more hopeful. In their recognition of America’s faults, I hear an invitation for all of us to work together to make the country truly great. When I listen to the Hamilton soundtrack or to Beyoncé’s “American Requiem,” I feel a yearning to work on this democracy, defend it, and widen the protections it promises.
Several years ago, the S&P Team issued a call for alternative national anthems, songs that, in your view, better represented the values of “equality, freedom, justice for all, the common good, and popular sovereignty — the idea that the power of government comes from us, the people.” Take a look at the article, and let us know your pick for an alternative anthem.
S&P regular contributor Micah Bucey wrote new lyrics for a whole slate of patriotic songs to reflect the current challenges to democracy. “Oh, Democracy, Where Are You” (sung to the tune of “Battle Hymn of the Republic”) is a send-up of our love for clever argument at the expense of real listening.
Trouble hearing this song? Listen online here.
“Democracy, the Vulnerable” (sung to the tune of “America the Beautiful”) is a call to show up and do the work, rather than just mouthing our values.
Trouble hearing this song? Listen online here.
“Hold Tight Democracy” (sung to the tune of “God Bless America”) is like a torch song to democracy, admitting we’ve taken our beloved for granted and hoping it’s not too late to get our lost love back.
Trouble hearing this song? Listen online here.
“My Sweet Democracy” (sung to the tune of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”) recognizes that a healthy democracy comes not from holding onto rigid ideologies but from living spiritually -- practicing service, hospitality, humility, empathy, and reverence.
Trouble hearing this song? Listen online here.
Image Source:
"You're A Grand Old Flag" (sheet music) page 1 of 5, 1906, Public Domain
Bruce Springsteen - Roskilde Festival 2012 by Bill Ebbesen CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Lin-Manuel Miranda in the title role of his musical "Hamilton", April 20, 2016 by Steve Jurvetson, CC Attribution 2.0 Generic
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