Reverance, Not Flamboyance

Veteran of World War II salutes in a cemetery during playing of Taps on Memorial Day, 2013.

    What is the most respected song in the United States?
   Most people would cite 'The Star Spangled Banner,' which is our National Anthem. I don't agree. Some performers don't respect the song. They sing it with flamboyance to showcase their voices. Audiences often cheer before the anthem finishes.
   I believe the most respected song in America is 'Taps.'
   Every Memorial Day, in towns all over the nation, Taps is performed by one bugler or one trumpeter. The melody is simple and haunting.
   Musicians perform it straight. They don't juice it up. It's performed at vantage points distant from audiences.
   Heads bow during Taps. Veterans salute. When the song ends, silence hangs in the air.

Trumpeter plays Taps apart from audience, at same event.

   Taps has lyrics, even though it's known as an instrumental piece. The opening stanza is appropriate for a song memorializing fallen soldiers.
  
'Day is done, gone the sun.
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest
God is nigh.'