Do You Know How “The Star-Spangled Banner” Was Written?
On September 13, 1814, as British warships pounded away at Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor with their rockets and mortars, a prisoner on one of the ships changed America’s history. He did it with a poem written on the back of a letter. When he was released from custody, Francis Scott Key set the words to a traditional melody and gave the fledgling United States its triumphant national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. Like many great moments in art that are revealed in the times of greatest struggle, The Star-Spangled Banner is a supreme example of art appearing from the darkest of times. The Americans at Fort McHenry were able to repel a vicious British Naval bombardment with few casualties because of their preparedness and swift actions. The sight of a specially-commissioned, oversized American flag rising from the smoke the morning after the a easy guitar songs ttack was the inspiration Key needed as he watched from the ship where he was held prisoner. The poem was originally titled “Defence of Fort McHenry.” The words that Key wrote for The Star-Spangled Banner just happened to match the rhythm of a popular British song, “The Anacreontic Song.” The title refers to the Greek court poet Anacreon whose erotic paeans to wine, women, and song are reflected in the lyrics of the original British tune. John Stafford Smith, a member of the Anacreontic Society, which was a group of amateur musicians, is commonly credited with writing the tune. Perhaps because it was commonly known as a raucous drinking song, though, the claim of composition in still up in the air. Two newspapers printed The Star-Spangled Banner with its original title on September 20, containing a reference to the Anacreontic song as the tune.