“Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?”

Wait a minute. Hold on just a second. No, that’s not right. I totally just switched around the lyrics in “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Has that ever happened to you?

You get so nervous about messing up these famous lyrics you actually end up carrying out your lyrical faux pas?

Fortunately, out of all the times I’ve performed the National Anthem, I’ve never screwed up the words..

So, what is it that makes me so nervous about forgetting the words to such a special song as our national anthem? Well, quite frankly it’s because it happens.

People screw up. They forget the words. It’s just inevitable.I mean, look at this year’s Super Bowl for instance.

Now, I personally didn’t see Christina Aguilera’s performance, but I did watch it on YouTube like millions of other people have done over the past few weeks.

And, to be honest, if you weren’t actually listening for her mistake, you might possibly miss it, because she covered it up very well.

She didn’t stop. She kept going.

But, by then it’s too late, and soon this is sure to follow. People may start to boo you in the stands. And then, of course you get your rendition, your “rewrite,” of the National Anthem uploaded onto YouTube or Facebook, or any other website for that matter, and people start making comments left and right, saying “you suck,” or “you’re not American.” Please. I think there has got to be far worse things for a person to do to get labeled as “un-American” than by just forgetting the lyrics to a song.

Not only that, but it’s a technically challenging song. A song usually sung a capella.

So, now do you see why I get so nervous singing the National Anthem? Talk about pressure.

So, the next time you witness someone screw up the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” could you please empathize with them for a second as to how much pressure they were under, and imagine what would happen to you if you were center stage, singing it for the rest of America.

I’m sure it would get you second-guessing the lyrics, too.