The Star- Spangled Banner

The Star- Spangled Banner

The Star- Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States of America, was written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The lyrics to the song are actually the four verses of the poem “Defense of Fort McHenry” by poet Francis Scott Key. This poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song that was written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society which was a men’s social club of the time. This is song is one of the hardest songs to sing due to the fact that its range is one and a half octaves. Despite having four verses, only the first is commonly sung today. The forth may be added on during formal occasions. Although it was written in 1814, it was not made our national anthem until March 3, 1931 by a congressional resolution which was signed by President at the time, Herbert Hoover. An interesting fact is that much of the idea of the poem and even some of the wording is arguably derived from am earlier song also written by Francis Scott Key which was also set to the tune of the same exact song. This song was known as “ When the Warrior Returns”. Key’s brother-in-law was the one who actually suggested that “Defense of Fort McHenry” be set to the tune of “The Anacreontic Song.” The song gained much popularity during the nineteenth century and was often played at public events such as Forth of July celebrations. On July 27, 1889 the song was even made the official tune to be payed at the raising of the flag.

"The Star-Spangled Banner -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner>.