Hijacked anthem brings a chorus of complaints

DENVER – Critics say singer Rene Marie is so vain, she probably thought the national anthem was about her.

She was supposed to sing the Star-Spangled Banner at Tuesday's State of the City address in Denver, but she substituted the lyrics with a song of her own choosing.

Marie sang "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," a song informally referred to as the "black national anthem."

Her performance, and the resulting public uproar, brought national media attention.

"The city was deceived," Hickenlooper said Wednesday. "We thought we were getting the national anthem and we weren't."

He defended the inaction of city officials who watched the performance and continued with the program's schedule without the national anthem.

"You ask someone to do something and you expect they're going to do it," Hickenlooper said. "She's up there singing; you can't go up and drag her off the stage."

Phone lines for The Mike Rosen show on 850 KOA lit up with callers angry over Marie's actions.

Rosen himself called Marie's performance "preening" and "self-glorifying."

Gov. Bill Ritter (D-Colorado), making his monthly appearance on the radio show, called the incident "inappropriate." During a radio commercial break, Ritter said he doesn't want Marie singing at state events because it would "encourage her behavior."

City Council President Michael Hancock says his office has been the target of angry phone calls and e-mails. He introduced Marie before her performance, leading some to assume he knew that she planned to snub the anthem for her own selection.

"This was an unfortunate bad decision by a performer who was given the honor and the privilege of singing," Hancock said. "It's very inappropriate and very disrespectful."

Hancock stressed he was unaware of Marie's plan. Marie said only her husband and her mentor knew of her anthem-swapping beforehand.

Rocky Mountain News jazz columnist Norman Proviser says Marie is known for her edgy, politically-tinged work.

"Doing that piece at that event does not surprise me," Proviser said.

He says he expects the controversy to pass "before too long."

"She'll be judged as she ought to be judged on her vocal talent and her creative talent," he said.

Marie did not respond directly when asked if she'd lost future bookings due to the incident.

In an e-mail to 9NEWS on Wednesday, she said her itinerary would be updated on her Web site later this week.

On Tuesday, she said she intended the alternate song as a statement.

"When I decided to sing my version, what was going on in my head was: 'I want to express how I feel about living in the United States, as a black woman, as a black person,'" said Marie.

"Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" was written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson in 1899 and set to music by his brother in 1900.

Marie says if she had the benefit of doing it over, she would sing the same song.

When asked if she planned to apologize for what happened she said, "No, I do not."

Hickenlooper said he is offering an apology to anyone offended by Marie's performance.

Below are the full lyrics to "Lift Ev'ry Voice & Sing"

LIFT EV'RY VOICE AND SING

Also known as the "black national anthem"

by James Weldon Johnson

Lift ev'ry voice and sing,

Till earth and heaven ring.

Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise,

High as the list'ning skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,

Bitter the chast'ning rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet,

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out from the gloomy past,

Till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who has by Thy might,

Led us into the light,

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,

Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee,

Shadowed beneath thy hand,

May we forever stand,

True to our God,

True to our native land.