After I posted that last piece on “Lift Every — or is it Ev’ry? — Voice and Sing,” a friend sent me a video of jazz singer Rene Marie’s rendition. You’ll notice that the person who introduces her — he calls her Rene “Martin” instead of “Marie ” — announces that she is going to sing “our” national anthem.
When I first watched the video, I was unaware of the context, so when he said “our” I didn’t know which “we” he meant.Turns out that the occasion was the State of the City address in Denver in 2008 and the audience was expecting a straight up “Star Spangled Banner.”
Apparently, Marie’s rendition caused quite a stir, to put it mildly. WARNING: If you venture into the comment thread that accompanies the video, you might need an antacid.
One might argue that Marie should have at least given city officials a heads up. In her defense, she says no one would have complained had her offering included another traditionally patriotic song such as “America the Beautiful.”
I think it’s a brilliant mash-up. What do you think?
I’ve also included a rendition by Talisman, a Stanford University a capella group. Enjoy this one too.
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