Aaron Lewis, the lead singer of Staind, flubbed a line of the National Anthem before Game 5 of the World Series, and has apologized on social media, asking “for the Nation’s forgiveness.”

Aaron Lewis Flubs Lyrics To National Anthem

Lewis took to the AT&T Park field Sunday night to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and he was barely two lines in before mixing up the lyrics. Lewis sang “What so proudly we hailed were so gallantly streaming” instead of “at the twilight’s last gleaming.”

While the flub itself wasn’t so bad, the cut-away to Giants player Tim Lincecum following the mishap made it all the more memorable, and Twitter was less than forgiving.

Lewis clearly felt horrible at the mistake and released a statement on Monday apologizing and asking for forgiveness. “My nerves got the best of me,” Lewis tweeted.

Lewis released a longer statement on his official website, adding, “America is the greatest country in the world. The Star-Spangled Banner means so much to so many, including myself. I hope everyone can understand the intensity of the situation and my true intent of this performance. I hope that the Nation, Major League Baseball and the many fans of our national pastime can forgive me.”

Aaron Lewis Slammed Christina Aguilera In 2011

A few fans on Twitter are pointing out that Lewis’ unintentional re-writing of the National Anthem might be a case of bad karma. In 2011, Lewis criticized Christina Aguilera for making a few mistakes when she performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl XLV.

“I don’t understand how people that sing the national anthem can be so f—king self-absorbed that they would try to change that f—king song. If there is a single song in the history of the country that deserves no creative interpretation, it’s that one,” Lewis said during one of his concerts at the time.

SF Giants Honor Robin Williams

The pre-game also had a few high notes (pun intended). Most notably, the SF Giants paid tribute to San Francisco native and enthusiastic Giants fan, Robin Williams. Williams’ three children, Zak Williams, Zelda Williams and Cody Williams took to the pitcher’s mound to throw the first pitch, and Williams’ good friend Billy Crystal acted as catcher.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.