Nuestro Himno

I.

To Anacreon in Heav'n,
Where he sat in full glee,
A few Sons of Harmony
Sent a petition
That he their Inspirer
And Patron would be;
When this answer arrived
From the Jolly Old Grecian:
"Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
No longer be mute,
I'll lend you my name
And inspire you to boot,

Chorus:

And besides I'll instruct you,
Like me, to intwine
The Myrtle of Venus
With Bacchus's Vine."

That's the first verse of the song "To Anacreon in Heaven" written in the mid 1760's. Later, a lawyer named Francis Scott Key wrote a song entitled "In Defence of Fort McHenry," the second poem he wrote in the same meter scheme. Key's words were combined with the song, and in 1931, it became our national anthem, to be butchered by countless thousands before sporting events. In addition, most people don't even know that first verse, let alone the other 3.

And yet, these same people that couldn't tell you when, how, or what was written by Mr Key, are now crying foul over a version of it in Spanish.

Which, by the way, isn't even the first time it's been translated. The first translation into Spanish was in 1919.

Heck, sing it in German, French, or Samoan for all care. Just sing it better than most of the crap I have to listen to at Bees games.

O Roketi mumu fa'aafi, o pomu ma fana ma aloi afi
E fa'amaonia i le po atoa, le fu'a o lo'o tu maninoa
Aue! ia tumau le fe'ilafi mai, ma agiagia pea
I eleele o Sa'olotoga, ma Nofoaga o le au totoa

-Bob