O say can you sing 'O Canada!'

Let's be clear: I can be a pretty emotional guy at times. Whenever I see a bride going down the aisle at her wedding, I get teary-eyed. When I hear an infant cry, I get bothered -- in my book, holding a crying baby is why God gave us two arms instead of four ears. Witnessing random acts of kindness can make me wobbly, too. Like when the opposing team helps a mentally or physically challenged player to score in the last game of the season. It doesn't even have to be the winning score. Just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something everyone else takes for granted. That gives me the chills.

And then there's the national anthem. Our national anthem. The one we sing at sporting events and on a few other suitable occasions. The anthem with four stanzas, even though we only know the first one. Whenever I hear "The Star Spangled Banner," I have this moment of tremendous pride while, at the same time, remembering the cost of attaining those liberties, rights and privileges of being an American.

Several days ago, something happened involving our national anthem that I will never forget. It was widely covered in news reports. It's all over YouTube. Go take a look.

See, the Nashville Predators, a hockey team from Tennessee, were playing the Maple Leafs in Toronto. At games where the teams are from different countries, the national anthems of both nations are sung. That's just the way it should be. So Michelle Madeira, a Canadian singer, was singing our national anthem before the game, and when she got to "gave proof through the night Â… ," her microphone went dead.

Here's the goose-pimply part. Without missing a beat, the Canadians in the stands picked up the anthem and finished it: "Â… that our flag was still there" and so on. Lustily they sang. Proudly they sang. If that doesn't touch you in a meaningful way, I don't know what will.

I was amazed. And here's why. I'm pretty sure the national anthem of Canada is "O Canada!" Beyond that I don't know a single word of our northern neighbor's anthem. If Michelle had been singing the Canadian anthem in Nashville, I wonder if the crowd could have finished it for her.

Well, there is this factoid: There are more Canadians on the Predators' roster than Americans. I'll bet they know "O Canada!"

But do you know it? I certainly don't.

So here's a free tutorial. Let's call it "Learn to Sing Your Neighbor's National Anthem." Let's start with Canada.

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

(If sung in Nashville, I'm pretty sure it would be "O Canada, we stand on guard for y'all." But I'm just guessing.)

There are more verses to "O Canada!," but it's pretty universal that all of a national anthem is never sung. Just the first verse. And maybe a chorus.

Oh, and in Canada there also is a French version, since a sizable number of Canadians live in French-speaking Quebec. Any Canadian politician worth his or her salt must be bilingual, and that applies to "O Canada!" as well.

Now, continuing our tutorial, let's shift our attention to the south. Who can tell me the name of Mexico's national anthem? I can't tell you without looking it up. Ah, there it is:

Himno Nacionale Mexicano

(Or, "Mexicans, at the Cry of War")

Chorus:

Mexicans, at the cry of war,

Make ready the steel and the bridle,

And may the Earth tremble at its centers

At the resounding roar of the cannon,

And may the Earth tremble at its centers

At the resounding roar of the cannon!

First stanza:

Let gird, oh Fatherland!, your brow with olive

By the divine archangel of peace,

For in heaven your eternal destiny

Was written by the finger of God.

But if some enemy outlander should dare

To profane your ground with his sole,

Think, oh beloved Fatherland!, that heaven

Has given you a soldier in every son.

Traditionally, the chorus is sung first, followed by the first stanza, and then the chorus again. All in Spanish, of course.

One final note on Canadian-American relations and their respective national anthems: Do you remember a few weeks ago when a gunman killed a ceremonial sentry at the Canadian National War Memorial on Parliament Hill in Ottawa? The gunman also was killed. That night the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers were playing hockey. With two U.S. teams, you would expect them to sing our national anthem. In tribute to their Canadian neighbors, the two teams -- both containing a good representation of Canadian players -- sang "O Canada!" instead. And, with the lyrics scrolling on the giant scoreboard, the American audience joined in. They sang lustily. They sang proudly.

That's just the way it should be.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.