As Denver dignitaries gathered Tuesday for Mayor John Hickenlooper’s State of the City address, City Council president Michael Hancock introduced singer Rene Marie to perform the national anthem.

But that’s not what she did.

Instead, Marie performed the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which also is known as the “black national anthem.”

She sang the words to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The proceedings then continued, without the customary singing of the national anthem, leaving some in the audience bewildered.

Marie said she made the change without informing the mayor’s office, which had expected her to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“I pulled a switcheroonie on them,” Marie said later.

She explained that she decided months ago to switch the lyrics because she will no longer sing the national anthem.

She said that she made the decision after a Russian broadcaster interviewed her and asked her what it was like to be an American.

At that moment, she said, she realized that as an African-American she at times feels like a foreigner in her home country.

“And I was going to correct her,” Marie said. “And I realized I didn’t feel like an American, and that bothered me a great deal.”

Marie, a popular jazz singer and actress who performs with the Shadow Theatre Company, said she never informed the mayor’s office she planned to switch the lyrics because she didn’t think they would let her go through with it.

Hickenlooper said he had talked to Marie about the situation after her performance.

“She was very apologetic,” the mayor said. “She meant no disrespect, and she was singing an artistic expression she thought represented love and hope for her country.”

Others were less charitable.

“I was surprised,” said Hancock, who said he thought Marie should have cleared her plans with the mayor’s office. “But you go on with the show.”

By Tuesday afternoon, Hancock had received several telephone calls from citizens and the media.

The anthem, written by James Weldon Johnson and first performed in 1900, was intended to commemorate nearly 40 years of freedom for blacks in America on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

The song, which appears in many church hymnals including the United Methodist hymnal, is an expression of hope and faith, and an appreciation and lamentation for the suffering of prior generations.

Still, Councilman Chris Nevitt said the replacing of the national anthem’s lyrics with those written by Johnson “was the weirdest damn thing.”

And Councilman Charlie Brown took to the airwaves, appearing on several radio stations to discuss the issue.

“There is no substitute for the national anthem,” Brown said. “I was shocked. It just puts everyone in an awkward position.”