Jose can you see? The new Spanish "translation" of the National Anthem contains lyrics not in the original. Earnings from the recording will underwrite radical illegal immigration organizations.

The commercial release of "Nuestro Himno" (Our Anthem), a loose translation of America's National Anthem, the "Star-Spangled Banner," has started a sharp debate over what it means to be an American and if the United States will remain an English-speaking nation.

The issue shouldn't be controversial; the United States is and always has been an English-speaking nation. And the National Anthem is an English-language song.

Star-Mangled Banner

But the recording "Nuestro Himno" goes one step further than merely creating a Spanish-language version of the National Anthem. While the first verse of "Nuestro Himno" keeps loosely to Francis Scott Key's original lyrics, the second verse contains language that appears nowhere in the "Star Spangled Banner," language which could take on a dark, revolutionary meaning in the illegal immigrant movement:

   ... we are equals.
   We are brothers in our anthem.
   In fierce combat, a symbol of
      victory
   the glory of battle,
   (My people fight on)
   the march toward liberty.
   (The time has come to break the
   chains.)

Not surprisingly, Francis Scott Key's great-great-grandson Charles Key called the new rendition a "despicable thing."

The new translation is the work of British immigrant Adam Kidron, in collaboration with Hispanic and hip-hop artists on his Urban Box Office label. Kidron told USA Today that the song would be featured on his Somos Americanos album, and that one dollar from each purchase would go to the National Capital Immigration Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that opposes all genuine immigration reform and helped to organize the protest marches on May Day. Kidron plans to release a remix of his new version of the National Anthem in June, adding political lyrics in English that criticize America's immigration policies.

Presidential Flip-flop

President Bush's recent reaction to singing the National Anthem in Spanish is at odds with his prior actions. According to Kevin Phillips's book American Dynasty, Bush personally sang the National Anthem in Spanish on the campaign trail in the year 2000 while he was pandering to Hispanic groups. Additionally, Bush got Latin pop singer Jon Secada to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish at his 2001 inauguration. Bush's State Department even has several Spanish-language translations of the "Star-Spangled Banner" on its website (though not Kidron's version). Yet, at a press conference on April 28 of this year, President Bush stated: "I think the National Anthem ought to be sung in English. And I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English, and they ought to learn to sing the National Anthem in English."

President Bush's opposition to Spanish-language singing of the National Anthem is new-found, and it coincides with his political interests. With the elections behind him and his poll numbers plummeting, President Bush has apparently found that the only way to retain any support is to appeal to his "conservative" base with insincere, throw-away lines like those in his April 28 press conference.