Beijing: 08-08-2008

[epchick]

Ok, so I was happy to see the Men's volleyball team singing. At the end, you could hear them belting it out! YAY!!!

And you could see audience members, hands to their heart & singing. I'm glad I got to witness that, since I was feeling left out cause y'all saw them. lol

Originally Posted by epchick

Ok, so I was happy to see the Men's volleyball team singing. At the end, you could hear them belting it out! YAY!!!

And you could see audience members, hands to their heart & singing. I'm glad I got to witness that, since I was feeling left out cause y'all saw them. lol

I haven't seen it in TV yet, but I was very happy to hear about the Men's Volleyball team's Gold Medal.

I was one of the Clay Stanley groupies while I was a student at Hawaii and had intro History classes with him (when he showed up, anyway). He looks hotter than ever!

[AGDLynn]

Hate to say this but the people climbing up that "memory tower" reminded me of cockroaches.

[epchick]

I never knew that Britian's "God save the Queen" or whatever it's called has the same melody as "America" (aka "My Country, Tis of Thee")

[DreamfulSpirit]

What does everyone think of the closing ceremonies?

[Thetagirl218]

Originally Posted by epchick

I never knew that Britain's "God save the Queen" or whatever it's called has the same melody as "America" (aka "My Country, Tis of Thee")

Me either....as I heard them sing it I was like, "Hey wait a sec, this is an American song!" lol! It was most likely a British song first; it got the history teacher in me, intrigued! I will investigate it tomorrow, I am too tired right now, and 6 am comes early!

The closing ceremony was cool, but not as awesome as the opening! I did like the thing with the bus, and Leona Lewis, though it was odd with Beckham popping out! lol!

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Thetagirl218

It was most likely a British song first; it got the history teacher in me, intrigued! I will investigate it tomorrow, I am too tired right now, and 6 am comes early!

According to Wikipedia, the person who wrote the lyrics to "My Country, Tis of Thee" didn't know that the melody was the same as the British National Anthem.

A melody in Muzio Clementi's Symphony No. 3 caught his attention.
Smith wrote his own American patriotic hymn to the melody completing the lyrics in thirty minutes. He had never heard Clementi's symphony before and had no idea of its derivation or associations with the British national anthem, "God Save the King.

I loved watching Jackie Chan singing a song!! Ahahaha. And that Beijing song is stuck in my head.

Was it just me or was the whole Leona Lewis performance off beat?

[AGDee]

what are we going to watch on tv now???? Still a few weeks before the fall season premieres. Thank goodness it was an Olympic year because the writers' strike made tv really stink and there weren't even good re-runs to watch because the seasons were so short and disappointing.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by epchick

According to Wikipedia, the person who wrote the lyrics to "My Country, Tis of Thee" didn't know that the melody was the same as the British National Anthem.




I loved watching Jackie Chan singing a song!! Ahahaha. And that Beijing song is stuck in my head.

Was it just me or was the whole Leona Lewis performance off beat?

Re: the song, I'm not sure I buy that Wikipedia fact. I'm normally pretty forgiving of Wikipedia, but that statement is marked as unsourced. The American lyrics are from 1831, and the song was popularized in England by 1745. It's all in the "God Save the Queen" article, which is far better IMO than the My Country 'Tis of Thee article, notes that it's a traditional tune which has been adopted by many composers into symphonies and used by many countries:

"God Save the King" was the first song to be used as a national anthem, although the Netherlands' national anthem, the Wilhelmus, is older. Its success prompted a number of imitations, notably in France and, later, Germany. Both commissioned their own songs to help construct a concrete national(ist) identity. The first German national anthem used the melody of "God Save the King" with the words changed to Heil dir im Siegerkranz, and sung to the same tune as the UK version. The tune was either used or officially adopted as the national anthem for several other countries, including those of Russia (until 1833) and Switzerland (Rufst Du, mein Vaterland or O monts indépendants, until 1961). Molitva russkikh, considered to be the first Russian anthem, was also sung to the same music.

It is also the melody to the United States patriotic hymn "America" (also known by its first line, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee"), and was played during the Presidential Inauguration parade of President George W. Bush on 20 January, 2001. In Iceland it is sung to the poem of Eldgamla Ísafold. The tune is also used as Norway's royal anthem entitled Kongesangen, and was used for the Swedish royal anthem between 1805 and 1893, entitled Bevare gud vår kung.

The tune is still used as the national anthem of Liechtenstein, Oben am jungen Rhein. When England played Liechtenstein in a Euro 2004 qualifier, the same tune was therefore played twice, causing some minor confusion.

Re: Leona Lewis, I don't think she was off beat exactly. Just when you're in a venue that large, it's hard to get the vocal reverb to match the person's lips, which is pretty disconcerting in a television broadcast.

Originally Posted by DreamfulSpirit

There were some parts during the closing ceremony that I wasn't all that impressed with, honestly.

Same for me. The London 2012 segment was especially pitiful. I think the London games are going to be great in some respects, but I don't think they'll top the Chinese opening ceremonies.

Originally Posted by epchick

Ok, so I was happy to see the Men's volleyball team singing. At the end, you could hear them belting it out! YAY!!!

And you could see audience members, hands to their heart & singing. I'm glad I got to witness that, since I was feeling left out cause y'all saw them. lol

I just saw the win and the ceremony. God bless Hugh McCutcheon. I can only imagine how he feels right now -- losing your father in law, almost losing your mother in law, and now winning the Gold.