Two out of three Americans do not know the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

[USMCRET6391]

By Melissa Brosk and Christina Bellantoni
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Oh, say, can you sing the national anthem?
Steve Guido and Eric Dorsey, both of New Fairfield, Conn., can -- sort of.
"Whose broad stripes and bright sparks, through the, um, the, um, perilous plight," the 16-year-olds sang on the Mall when asked yesterday, looking sheepishly at each other for help when they goofed up the lyrics.
The Washington Times quizzed several Mall strollers on their knowledge of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and found some who knew the song by heart.
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Lin Taylor of Harrisburg, Pa., belted out a few lines as her young children's eyes glazed over.
"You know," she said to Erin, 8, and Ben, 7, who returned blank stares, "Oh, say can you see?"
The Taylor children aren't alone: A recent Harris Poll showed two out of three Americans do not know the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Organizers of the National Anthem Project want to remedy that by reteaching the song through school music classes and singalongs at sporting events.
"Out of all the songs Americans know, they should be able to sing this one above all others," John J. Mahlmann, executive director of the National Association for Music Education (MENC), which runs the anthem project, said during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol yesterday.
Mr. Mahlmann and the music-education group attribute the lack of knowledge to years of budget cuts to music programs in schools around the country.
To kick off a campaign for increased support of music education, the National Anthem Project brought together more than 200 schoolchildren yesterday to sing the anthem and remind the nation of the importance of Francis Scott Key's patriotic lyrics.
Two dozen students from Thomson Elementary School's choir in Northeast joined other children, the U.S. Marine Band and country recording artists the Oak Ridge Boys in a performance that was televised from the West Lawn of the Capitol.
U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, Texas Republican, attended the performance.
"Music is one of the easy things to eliminate because of budget cuts, but it's important to give kids the avenue to express themselves," Mr. Poe said. "We need to get kids singing about our history again."
Key originally wrote the anthem as a poem during the War of 1812 as he watched Fort McHenry in Baltimore being attacked by the British navy. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1931.
On the Mall yesterday, Ian Boley, 17, said he sings the anthem in his school choir in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
"What so proudly we hailed, yadda, yadda, yadda," he said when asked if he knew the words. "It's a good song with a good message."
Jeff McIsaac, a 26-year-old Bel Air resident and former Marine who works for the Pentagon, said: "I can sing you the whole thing. ... I learned it by going to ballgames."
That's exactly what MENC President David E. Circle is aiming for. He has been working with Major League Baseball to help along the anthem project.
"Instead of standing there listening to a soloist [before the start of a game], we are encouraging people to sing along," he said.
Apparently, young Americans aren't the only ones in need of a little schooling about the national anthem.
"Isn't it 'God Bless America'? " said Kathy Morrison, 55, of Fort Worth, Texas. "All I know is about Betsy Ross and her flag."

[MACTANK]

That goes right along with the Pledge of Allegiance. How many kids these days can recite it these days since it is being phased out of the school system because of the words: Under God?

[333MP]

I'm poud to know every word.

[rabbid37]

Two out of three Americans need to take more classes on America and its history. Being in the military....i am proud to know every word and the history behind it!

[CFHSNJROTC]

Bing in NJROTC I know every word of both and am proud to recite the pledge 2 times a school day morning when school starts and before NJROTC class begins.

[AmericanGirl]

know it by heart and have actually had to sing it in front of a whole lot of people

[CFHSNJROTC]

I think she will be on the next American idol i hope so .

[AmericanGirl]

ummmm I don't think so! anyone can sing the Star Spangled Banner, well except for Roseanne Barr, but on American Idol you have to be a performer too, and that I am not. sorry guys!

[CFHSNJROTC]

oh it is ok .

This is shameful, but it is no surprise. I bet they know all the words to there favorite pop music star's song. This is the results of the MTV pop culture society that we now find ourselves in.

"Freedom is best understood by those who are oppressed and least by those who have it"

[Rusty24]

So if 2 out of 3 don't know it and you do, does that mean the two people that are the closest to you don't know it?

[Amy23Army]

:proud-ame
yup, that would be the case (since i just sang it to be sure i knew it lol------not like i have the voice to do it in public but i sang it well enough to make myself cry----tears of shame at the voice i have lmao