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From the Desk of Garrison Keillor
A prolific writer, Garrison Keillor is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines throughout the United States and abroad. To the right, you find a selection of articles published since 1989, and a few unpublished pieces.
Sing the national anthem—and try it in the key of G
July 2, 2004
Dear Friends,
According to a recent Harris Poll, two out of three Americans say they don't know the national anthem. Last spring I went to a convention of the National Association of Music Educators and got to hear them, 3,000 strong, sing "The Star-Spangled Banner," which was rousing and moving and different from what one has come to expect. The difference was that the anthem was sung in G, a good key for most people, and wasn't a vehicle for some aging diva but a terrific piece of music.
All the good folks who've complained about the national anthem over the years—unsingable, full of war imagery—are wrong, wrong, wrong. It's magnificent. And it's not about war. It's about the survival of our flag and all that it stands for. The anthem and the flag do not belong to a particular political agenda. They belong to us all, and so I've been happy to join the music educators in their national campaign to get Americans to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
This spring, before every show, I've invited the audience at A Prairie Home Companion to sing it. And they have, gladly. And on that big, resounding "land of the freeeeeeeee," people get really jazzed by it.
Here's a recording of five-thousand people singing the anthem in Guilford, New Hampshire, in June. Listen to it and see what you think.
Listen
Thanks, and have a very happy Fourth of July.
— Garrison Keillor
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Past Articles
GK On Historic Preservation (10/05/07)
Welcome to St. Paul (09/23/06)
"Homegrown Democrat," Chapters 1-4 (08/10/04)
Sing the National Anthem—and Try it in the Key of G (07/02/04)
Holiday Greetings from Garrison Keillor (12/23/03)
Remembering Plimpton (10/01/03)
Crankiness in Decline, Says the Old Guy (04/19/02)
A Governor Works in Mysterious Ways (10/19/01)
In Praise of Laziness (09/10/01)
I Just Needed a Valve Job (09/13/01)
A Eulogy for Chet Atkins (07/03/01)
A Foot Soldier in God's Floating Orchestra (04/01)
Exile on Main Street (10/02/00)
Walking Down the Canyon (07/31/00)
The Mysteries of Prom Night (05/15/00)
How I Write (12/04/99)
The Christmas of the Great Flu (12/99)
Let Jesse Be Jesse (10/10/99)
The Rice, the Bat, the Baby (09/06/99)
Faith at the Speed of Life (06/14/99)
The Republicans Were Right, But (02/15/99)
Minnesota's Excellent Ventura (11/16/98)
The Dangers of Christmas (04/06/98)
Gasgate (11/10/97)
Talk Radio (10/97)
The Seven Principles of a Successful Christmas (09/08/97)
The Seven Deadly Sins—Envy (04/97)
You Say Potato (04/04/96)
The Poetry Judge (02/96)
With All the Trimmings (11/27/95)
In Autumn We Get Older (11/06/95)
Minnesota's Sensible Plan (09/11/95)
The Art of the Embrace (02/95)
The Voters are Angry (08/94)
Word Play (05/18/90)
We Are Still Married (12/18/89)
Elevator Tales
A Graduation Speech
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Scripts and bits from A Prairie Home Companion celebrate the secret society of men and women who possess excellent spelling and punctuation skills. (You know who you are.)
Selections include "The Six-Minute Hamlet," a tribute to Emily Dickinson, a Guy Noir adventure that exposes an MFA scam, a riveting "Professional Organization of English Majors" drama, and guests Billy Collins, Robert Bly, Roy Blount Jr., and Calvin Trillin.
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The soundtrack to Robert Altman's take on Garrison Keillor's radio show features 25 songs. If you are an avid A Prairie Home Companion listener, you know what to expect: a delightful mix of music and fun by APHC regulars including the Guy's All Star Shoe Band, Robin & Linda Williams and Jearlyn Steele, among others, plus some amazing music by a diverse slate of guest performers. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin duet as the singing Johnson sisters on "My Minnesota Home" and "Goodbye to my Mama." Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly appear as Dusty and Lefty, the singing cowboys, and warble "Whoopi Ti Yi Yo" and the crowd pleasing but crusty song "Bad Jokes." Lindsay Lohan delivers "Frankie and Johnny".
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