Bush criticises Spanish US anthem

[toms]

Is a version sung in spanish the end of the world? Is it any worse than a Jimi Hendrix electric guitar version? (which i always thought was great btw)

Can't be long now until spanish is the majority language in the USA anyway...

George Bush has entered a row about the US national anthem, criticising a Spanish version featuring Wyclef John and Gloria Trevi.

"I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English," he said when asked at a news conference.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4955360.stm

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by toms

Is a version sung in spanish the end of the world? Is it any worse than a Jimi Hendrix electric guitar version? (which i always thought was great btw)

Can't be long now until spanish is the majority language in the USA anyway...



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4955360.stm

I already knew he was an a******.

Personally, I don't give a damn what language it's sung in, most of the people in this country are immigrants or decendants of immigrants, why shouldn't our national anthem (which most people here don't even know the words to) be sung in a language they can understand better (or at all for that matter)?

[Good Sir Knight]

They are free to sing it in any language they want.

IMO it should be sang in English at any governmental event as the majority of people in the United States speak English, not Spanish.

[Samnmax221]

Nothing wrong with it but I still believe you should learn English if you plan to live here.

[rccar328]

Normally I wouldn't have too much problem with it, except for two things:

1. The only reason it was recorded & released was to further inflame the immigration debate.

2. It's not a translation of the Star Spangled Banner. The words have been changed significantly to promote their agenda.

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by rccar328

Normally I wouldn't have too much problem with it, except for two things:

1. The only reason it was recorded & released was to further inflame the immigration debate.

2. It's not a translation of the Star Spangled Banner. The words have been changed significantly to promote their agenda.

Do you have the lyrics for it? I'd like to see how different it really is.

[Char Ell]

Not a fan of the Spanish-language version of The Star-Spangled Banner. For me it loses something in the translation. I've only heard sound bites of the Spanish version but the title they gave it is Nuestro Himno which apparently translates to "Our Anthem." I mean, if they can't get the title right then what hope does the rest of the song have?

I wonder what citizens of Mexico would do if some crazy Americans sang the Mexican national anthem in English?
EDIT:

Originally Posted by jmac7142

Personally, I don't give a damn what language it's sung in, most of the people in this country are immigrants or decendants of immigrants, why shouldn't our national anthem (which most people here don't even know the words to) be sung in a language they can understand better (or at all for that matter)?

This is what I believe the words to the U.S. national anthem are. (quoted from memory)

O say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

I just didn't want to be counted among "most people."

[Rogue15]

why isn't mexico part of the united states of america?

[Samnmax221]

Well we very well could have had Mexico as we had captured Mexico City during the Mexican American War

[Rogue15]

well, if at first you don't succeed....

[Samuel Dravis]

Originally Posted by Rogue15

well, if at first you don't succeed....

I don't think you'd want to succeed in the same way as was done then. They used cadets as the last line of defense for Mexico City. Children. We sure captured Mexico City though.

[Mike Windu]

Meh. If they want to sing it in Spanish, then they are free to do so.

I don't care much for Spanish... I prefer French and Latin.

(I am quite aware that both Spanish and French come from Latin and are Romance languages. But there's a difference. Trust me.)

[Bill-Ba D'Kota]

Originally Posted by jmac7142

most of the people in this country are immigrants or decendants of immigrants

So true... so very true. Immigrants who came to the US (legally) and became US citizens (legally). The US is a country formed by the differences in people being amalgamated and should continue to do so. The fact that this translation of the anthem was done with the sole purpose to cause contraversy is sick and wrong. The entire debate about this bill (which intends to make it more difficult to illegally enter the country) is a waste of energy, spurred on by uninformed people.

[rccar328]

Originally Posted by jmac7142

Do you have the lyrics for it? I'd like to see how different it really is.

You can find the lyrics here, and this article has a link to actually listen to the song.


Here are some of the lyrics that deviate from what they're calling a "translation":
Sus estrellas, sus franjas, la libertad, somos iguales
Somos hermanos, es nuestro himno.

Now, I'm not fluent enough in Spanish to translate the song, but I do know that there's nothing in it about "the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air"...instead they put in this "we're just like you" crap to promote their agenda.

The thing that hacks me off about it is that they're marketing it as a "Spanish-language US national anthem", or a translation, when it's really only loosely based on the Star Spangled Banner.

I wonder what citizens of Mexico would do if some crazy Americans sang the Mexican national anthem in English?

Well, this is all about the illegal immigration issue, right? I wonder what would happen if millions of US citizens crossed the border into Mexico illegally, and started buying up land and using Mexico's social services, while only a small percentage of them actually pay taxes. How long would it take before Mexico started advocating for a wall at the border? After all, Mexico guards their southern border judiciously...the only reason they don't guard their northern border the same way is because they can export their poverty problems to the United States...and the way Mexico is being run, they aren't in much danger of an illegal immigration problem from the US.

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by rccar328

You can find the lyrics here, and this article has a link to actually listen to the song.


Here are some of the lyrics that deviate from what they're calling a "translation":
Sus estrellas, sus franjas, la libertad, somos iguales
Somos hermanos, es nuestro himno.

Now, I'm not fluent enough in Spanish to translate the song, but I do know that there's nothing in it about "the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air"...instead they put in this "we're just like you" crap to promote their agenda.

{snip}

Now I do have a problem with it. That's not even close to the actual lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner, it's an entirely different song to push their agenda (which I do have a problem with).

[Samuel Dravis]

Yeah it means something like "It's stars, it's (?), the liberty(?) we are equal. We're brothers is our hymn."

edits: Google translated it like (getting better at this I guess ):

"Its stars, its stripes, the freedom, we are equal We are brothers, is our hymn. "

[The Source]

Originally Posted by Good Sir Knight

They are free to sing it in any language they want.
IMO it should be sang in English at any governmental event as the majority of people in the United States speak English, not Spanish.

I agree.

[Dagobahn Eagle]

Now, I'm not fluent enough in Spanish to translate the song, but I do know that there's nothing in it about "the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air"...instead they put in this "we're just like you" crap to promote their agenda.

Yeah, stupid pacifist crap about peace and tolerance and equality and no one dying. I wanna sing about blowin' stuff up!

A change from the better, if you ask me. Though I see what your problem is. National anthems are national anthems. They shouldn't be remixed or sung in foreign languages or whatever the Heck else.

[Totenkopf]

Given that Spanish speaking people only currently consist of something like 13-15% of the US population, and that they aren't a monolithic block, it's doubful English will be eclipsed anytime soon. But as long as people want to come here legally, they need to learn English to operate on a day to day basis. Same is true for any country. If you want to move there, learn their language or live a somewhat marginal existence in your new land. If Mexicans and other "latins" want to sing the national anthem in spanish in their own homes or informal get togethers, no big deal. But at least translate the song, however difficult, accurately if your going to call it a translation. I'm not sure how the current "translation" is actually better, just b/c of all the "peace weeny, whiny, sentimentality" it seems versed in anyway. The original is patriotic in nature no doubt. All that "blowin' stuff up" is not an exhortation to violence but merely an acknowledgement that in spite of being attacked, the flag (in essence America itself) "was still there".