Its a national anthem, not a funeral dirge!

I've been living in the US, specifically Texas, for almost 2 years now and I love it here; the people are friendly and inviting, the weather is tremendous and there's no lack of things to keep one busy. But I am Canadian. I was born Canadian and I'll die Canadian. Not only that, I'm a fiercely patriotic Canadian.

And so it was with great joy and anticipation that I headed to the Stars VS Oilers hockey game on Friday night; not because I'm an Oilers fan, but because it was a rare opportunity to stand tall and sing my national anthem out loud. I'm still glowing from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, you see, and watching the TV coverage with those lovely red and white flags waving everywhere and hearing huge crowds singing "Oh Canada" with such fervor made me realize how much I miss that feeling.

After waiting patiently for an hour or so, the time finally arrived. "Please stand and join us in singing the national anthem of Canada!". The crowd surged to it's feet and I almost tumbled over the row in front of us I jumped up so fast (the beer I had just consumed probably didn't help, but I was excited, damnit!). Ready for a singer armed with a microphone to step into the spotlight with a stirring rendition of "Oh Canada" I was slightly puzzled when a diminutive woman with a cello gingerly made her way onto the carpeted circle. WTF?? She sat down and put bow to strings and proceeded to play her rendition of my beloved National Anthem...a key too low, sections missing and at the pace of a funeral procession.

Bound and determined, and wondering if this "artist" had every heard my countries anthem, I pushed forward and tried to sing along. I honestly felt like I was waiting for a string of pall bearers to make their way onto the ice at any moment. In defiance I belted out the last couple of lines at the top of my lungs, receiving several bemused glances from the American fans standing around me. I was pretty damned disappointed and, quite honestly, insulted. It wasn't just my anthem, either, the Star Spangled Banner never sounded so depressing and morose. The crowd was less than impressed, to say the least. Instead of a rowdy crowd of hockey fans ready to cheer themselves hoarse, you had tens of thousands of subdued people wondering who died. Even the guys with their bodies painted in green and gold looked ready to cry into their overpriced beers.

Now I understand that small variations in an artists interpretation of any musical score are bound to happen. But when something to important, so stirring and, as overly dramatic as it sounds, so sacred, is rendered unrecognizable, it's time to put the brakes on. Especially at sporting events, where ones anthem is intended to stir pride and emotion and excitement. Don't jazz it, scat it, countrify it, slow it down or mellow it out.

I want it loud, I want it proud and I want to be able to sing along with chills on my arms and tears threatening to spill down my cheeks in a completely unabashed expression of patriotism.