Monday, November 07, 2005

 

God Bless Take Me Out to the Ballgame

When I was a kid, I read a good book (the name of which I've forgotten) about an American boy growing up in China and going to an English school. He didn't want to sing "God Save the Queen," but not doing so got him in trouble. His father pointed out that he could instead sing, quietly, "My Country 'Tis of Thee," which shared a melody with the British anthem.

It will no doubt cheer BRPA2004 readers to learn that, while watching the White Sox win the World Series on Fox, those in attendance at the Rocketship realized that, while "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "God Bless America"--two songs whose relative importance in baseball history Bud Selig seems to have confused--do not traditionally share a melody, there is, it turns out, no reason that they shouldn't.

That's right: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" can be sung--flawlessly--to the tune of "God Bless America." (And vice-versa, I suppose, but, well, yuck. Why do that to America?)

Try it at home. Try it at your favorite ballpark the next time the PA guy demands a show of religious-themed patriotism rather than a celebration of what you've actually chosen to do with your day.

Or wait until I get Jim to sing it and post the MP3.

As the caption to a photo at the Neo-Futurarium of a boy flipping off the camera said, "See--everything in the world's not made of toilet."

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Comments:
It works, but not as effectively as Emily Dickinson's poems/"The Yellow Rose of Texas" or "Stairway to Heaven"/"Gilligan's Island" theme song.
 
I'm not sure our audience will believe it works, Jim, until the MP3 is up.
I'll check back later today to see if you've taken care of that.
 
I don't have a microphone available to me at present.
 
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