Americana
December 9, 2020
Ron
Americana
(Judy Garland, 1936)
[Get a load of these 13-year old virtuoso chops. What an instrument.]
The Star Spangled Banner
(Whitney Houston, 1991)
[Nobody captured the spirit of it like Whitney.]
The Star-Spangled Banner
(Complete Version)
[Most of the other verses are sung here; see lyrics below. It's bloody brilliant! Watch the reactions of the crowd.]
The Star-Spangled Banner — Complete Version
[Retaining the spelling and punctuation from Francis Scott Key's manuscript in the Maryland Historical Society collection. Incredible poetry.]
O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb 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?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
'Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust,"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The Star Spangled Banner As You've Never Heard It
AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL
America the Beautiful
(Judy Garland, 1964)
[There's lots of nice versions of this song, but this is my very favorite. Judy Garland rode the melody so passionately with a big old belt, and I love those old belters. For those of us who worked in musicals, there's a reverence to the melody that you should feel responsible to honor. Judy Garland's pyrotechnic interpretations distinguished her within the song, but she always served the melody. Judy's instrument was seasoned and deft enough to hold a note forever if she wanted; she didn't need to gliss and riff on a note to hold it. She could just freakin' hold it. Listen to the last note of "Old Man River" — I mean, oh my God.]
I Look To You
(Whitney Houston, 2009)
[Simple and sublime.]
Upon This Rock
(Sandi Patty)
Battle Hymn of the Republic
(Judy Garland, 1963)
Amazing Grace
(LeAnn Rimes)
[This is astonishing.]
Comments