Last week I wrote about the surprising history of The Star-Spangled Banner’s melody. The
history of the lyrics is just as fascinating.
It’s worth putting the whole picture together because the marriage of
words and melody during the War of 1812 created our National Anthem as we know
it today. Or did it?
War broke out between Britain and America in 1812, and in
1813 Britain, the superpower if its day, blockaded the mouth of Chesapeake Bay
and began carrying out raids along its shores.
In one of those raids, August of 1814, in one of the most embarrassing
defeats of the war for the United States, the British burned Washington D.C.,
including the White House. As a member
of the Georgetown militia Francis Scott Key witnessed the burning, and his wife
and children actually had to flee the city.
The citizens of Baltimore could see the glow of the
flames on the horizon, and as the third largest city in the country the inhabitants
knew they were next! So they set about
fortifying their city and harbor as fast as they could. If England could take Fort McHenry at the
mouth of Baltimore’s harbor, Baltimore would fall. And if Baltimore fell, the country would
likely fall!
A few weeks later, in September, Key was dispatched to
sail down the Bay to find the British fleet and negotiate the release of a
prisoner that the Royal Navy had captured; he found the fleet just as the
British were preparing their attack. He
successfully negotiated terms of release, but the British refused to let them
go quite yet because Key knew battle was about to begin. So, in the famous story, beginning on
September 13, Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry, quite possibly in
the front line of the battle from the deck of his own small boat.
With England’s superior fire power and ships it was
basically the nineteenth-century equivalent of our Iraq War Shock and Awe. Fortunately the American fortifications kept
the fleet far enough away to limit the damage somewhat. Nonetheless it was a frightening sight, with rockets
and mortar bombs raining down on the Fort, and the light of the explosions flickering
on the dark, rain-laden clouds. But
towards dawn on September 14 the bombardment stopped! Was it because the Fort had fallen? If so,
the Stars and Stripes would be replaced by the Union Jack. Key peered anxiously through the glimmer—whose
flag was flying? Just
then the rain stopped, the rising sun cleared the clouds, and a sunbeam shone
like a beacon on the American flag, still flying high over the fort.
It took awhile for
Key and all the Americans involved to realize that the mighty British Empire
had given up! The fleet was
withdrawing! Against all odds the
Americans had won! Baltimore, and soon
the nation, was delirious with joy. And Key was so moved by it all that he wrote his
famous words to fit the tune called, in America, Anacreon. It became
immensely popular, and after decades of debate over which song we should adopt
as our National Anthem, The Star-Spangled
Banner was so designated on March 3, 1931, by act of Congress.
So, end of story, right?
The Star-Spangled Banner will be 200 years old this coming September, 2014. Except that the song as we sing it today is
not exactly as 19th-century Americans sang it: some of the rhythms in
the early version are different, the dotted eighth/sixteenth-note beat so
typical of martial music is smoothed out, and the signature descending triad on
the first words, “Oh, say, “ so familiar to us, is simply not there! It begins quite simply on the tonic, or “do.” Amazingly, the triad doesn’t begin to appear
in publications until after 1910, almost within the living memory of some
Americans!
So just how old is our National Anthem? Well, as the National Anthem it is only 83
years old. The tune itself is quite old,
239 years. Who can say exactly how old the Anthem as we sing it today really
is, since it has changed a bit over the centuries? But as The
Star-Spangled Banner, an expression of national pride and unity, Key
memorably brought music and words together 200 years ago this coming September,
and that is a date to be celebrated!
You can find out more about the anniversary by visiting www.starspangledmusic.org. And the next time you sing the Anthem, savor
the rich history behind it.
Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside
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