facts behind the star spangled banner song

He set the word ‘free’ to a note so high nobody can reach it. He knows of every tribute, genuine and forced, and he’s read all the criticisms of the national anthem’s jingoism, its triumphant militarism and its original lyrics’ inclusion of the word “slave,” but not the word “America.” In fact, his knowledge of the song’s history and its uses, benign and otherwise, is so comprehensive that I was surprised he didn’t quote my personal favorite, delivered by Belize in “Angels in America,” when he claims the slaveholder who wrote the national anthem “knew what he was doing. Mark Clague knows everything about “The Star-Spangled Banner,” including how you feel about it. Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new showsĭiscover new Chesterton Radio shows in our other Playlists!įollow us on Social consider supporting us.O SAY CAN YOU HEAR? A Cultural Biography of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” by Mark Clague Plus Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Big Bands and moreĭo you enjoy the variety on Chesterton Radio? Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing. This setting, renamed 'The Star-Spangled Banner', soon became a well-known U.S. 'To Anacreon in Heaven' (or 'The Anacreontic Song'), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London.

flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. The lyrics come from the 'Defence of Fort M'Henry', a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. 'The Star-Spangled Banner' is the national anthem of the United States.

Radio Drama of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner Show more

Facts behind the star spangled banner song