Sammy Hagar recently explained why he won’t sing the national anthem again in a post on Instagram.
“I swore I would never sing the national anthem again,” the Red Rocker wrote alongside a video of him performing his song ‘Remember the Heroes.’
When a fan asked, “Why won’t you sing the national anthem? You seem to be taking advantage and enjoying every ounce of this country,” Hagar responded, saying, “I think about it every time I’m offered. It has to be the perfect situation. Otherwise, it’s just a vocal exercise with no soul.”
In 2011, Hagar and Joe Satriani performed the national anthem at a St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park. Hagar stumbled over some lyrics during the performance, but still received applause afterward.
‘Remember the Heroes,’ which appeared on Hagar’s 1982 album ‘Three Lock Box,’ is a song honoring soldiers regardless of one’s views on war. The song was co-written with Jonathan Cain from Journey and features Mike Reno of Loverboy. It tells the story of a wounded veteran struggling to readjust after returning home.
Hagar has recently avoided discussing politics. He posted a video reassuring his fans that everything would be okay after the U.S. elections, saying, “I just wanna say everyone, it’s gonna be okay. I know we’re all feeling the same thing. Just take a deep breath, let’s all take a deep breath, and let’s just thank God that we’ve seen this movie, been here before and everything is gonna be okay. I really truly believe that.”
Despite this, some fans urged him to share his political views. One user commented, “I love the post he did where he supported Kamala, I wish she would’ve touched on that in this awesome message here too.”
Hagar replied, “[It] wasn’t me I never post anything that supports anything political because it only divides! Politics divide! I am for the people of this country and the rest of the world. Period period. Period. Period.”
This year, Sammy Hagar toured with his Best of All Worlds Tour, performing mostly Van Halen classics.
