Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Oh, say, can you play the better "Star Spangled Banner"?

Kensington music man says inferior version of anthem plays at Olympics

Lyrics to Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner"
Lyrics to Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner"

Former Kensington resident Jason DeBord, a 1988 graduate of San Diego’s O’Farrell High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, did a 17-year stint on Broadway as a conductor, arranger, and musician.

Jason DeBord

According to DeBord, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” played during the 2018 Winter Olympics medal ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is the wrong rendition.

“It’s not the version we’re used to at baseball games,” said DeBord. “It feels ambiguous, rather than celebratory. This is the United States’ national anthem. This is a time of triumph. The Olympic version is conciliatory.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Describing in layman’s terms, DeBord explained, “If one were to sing along to the Olympics’ version during a ceremony, they could hear the words where a minor chord has been substituted.”

This isn’t the first time DeBord has challenged the Olympic version. He first noticed the current version used at the 2012 summer games in London. That’s when British composer and film-score arranger Shepard (one name) was contracted to score and record the anthems for all of the 200 participating countries.

DeBord heard the same version at the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia. When the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro were coming around, DeBord thought for sure, “Someone would have taken notice. I was sure it would have been re-recorded.”

It wasn’t. During the first 2016 gold-medal ceremony, DeBord said he found himself yelling at the television. “It’s a horrible arrangement,” he said.

So dismayed at the continued use in the 2016 games, he posted his displeasure on Facebook. The next morning he got a call from New York Times reporter David Segal. The Times story was picked up during the summer games by media outlets around the country, including interviews with DeBord on NPR and Michigan Public Radio.

Although signed into law as our national anthem in 1931 by president Herbert Hoover, there is no official rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

So, where exactly are the changes? DeBord pointed out three lines in which he says there’s a de-emphasization of certain words by descending into a minor chord; “What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,” “O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming,” and “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Others have written that perhaps composer Shepard was trying to diminish the chest-thumping military aspect of that 1814 victory that Francis Scott Key wrote about. DeBord said when arranging a traditional song such as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “It’s inappropriate for a composer to express themselves artistically.” Since 2012, Shepard has not commented publicly has to why he chose the current arrangement.

Now, as an assistant professor of music in University of Michigan’s music-theater program, DeBord says he’s enjoying the 2018 games but finds himself “stewing in front of the TV” when USA is awarded a gold medal.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Next Article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad
Lyrics to Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner"
Lyrics to Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner"

Former Kensington resident Jason DeBord, a 1988 graduate of San Diego’s O’Farrell High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, did a 17-year stint on Broadway as a conductor, arranger, and musician.

Jason DeBord

According to DeBord, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” played during the 2018 Winter Olympics medal ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is the wrong rendition.

“It’s not the version we’re used to at baseball games,” said DeBord. “It feels ambiguous, rather than celebratory. This is the United States’ national anthem. This is a time of triumph. The Olympic version is conciliatory.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Describing in layman’s terms, DeBord explained, “If one were to sing along to the Olympics’ version during a ceremony, they could hear the words where a minor chord has been substituted.”

This isn’t the first time DeBord has challenged the Olympic version. He first noticed the current version used at the 2012 summer games in London. That’s when British composer and film-score arranger Shepard (one name) was contracted to score and record the anthems for all of the 200 participating countries.

DeBord heard the same version at the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia. When the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro were coming around, DeBord thought for sure, “Someone would have taken notice. I was sure it would have been re-recorded.”

It wasn’t. During the first 2016 gold-medal ceremony, DeBord said he found himself yelling at the television. “It’s a horrible arrangement,” he said.

So dismayed at the continued use in the 2016 games, he posted his displeasure on Facebook. The next morning he got a call from New York Times reporter David Segal. The Times story was picked up during the summer games by media outlets around the country, including interviews with DeBord on NPR and Michigan Public Radio.

Although signed into law as our national anthem in 1931 by president Herbert Hoover, there is no official rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

So, where exactly are the changes? DeBord pointed out three lines in which he says there’s a de-emphasization of certain words by descending into a minor chord; “What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,” “O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming,” and “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Others have written that perhaps composer Shepard was trying to diminish the chest-thumping military aspect of that 1814 victory that Francis Scott Key wrote about. DeBord said when arranging a traditional song such as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “It’s inappropriate for a composer to express themselves artistically.” Since 2012, Shepard has not commented publicly has to why he chose the current arrangement.

Now, as an assistant professor of music in University of Michigan’s music-theater program, DeBord says he’s enjoying the 2018 games but finds himself “stewing in front of the TV” when USA is awarded a gold medal.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.