Star Spangled Banner

We've all had the experience of sort-of listening to a conversation, and then later being alarmed because we can't put together the half-remembered segments into any coherent, sensible whole. A bit like that "telephone" game where one whispers a message to the next person in line; by the end, "What hath God wrought?" has become "Bug teeth got bought."

We feel very much like that with respect to what we are told is a controversy of some sort over some new version of the national anthem. Our confusion was not reduced when we learned that someone named "Wyclef Jean" was involved. Is that the fellow's actual name? Is there some asserted connection to John Wyclif? Has he ever heard of John Wyclif? (Apparently, some other guy, named "Pitbull," is also involved. We won't go there.)

We looked around the web and came up with the lyrics here. Of course, translation of the Spanish version back into English might not do it justice. (And why is the Spanish version twice as long as the English? Does it include advertisements not in the original?)

But, for serious students of this story, we came across an unbiased machine translation (via Babelfish) of the original English into Spanish, and then back into English. It goes like this:

The opinion of Or, you can consider, by the early light of the dawn, What we hailed so proud in flashing last of the twilight?

Of whom ample rays and shining stars, with the dangerous fight, On the embankments that we watched, so galantemente they flowed?

And the red fulgor of the rockets, the pumps that explode in air, It gave the test with the night that our flag still was there.

The opinion of Or, does that flag stars-star-spangled wave yet On the Earth of free and the home of the brave one?

We like it. But it's hard to dance to.

In truth, we like this translated national anthem much better:

Let us go children of the Fatherland, the day of glory arrived!

Against us of tyranny, the bloody standard is picked up, hear you in the Mugir campaigns these wild soldiers?

They come until in your arms to cut the throats of your sons, your partners!

Refrain: With the weapons, citizens, Form your battalions, let us go, go! How one impure blood Waters our furrows!