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Somebody sent me a link to You Tube it was group of kids singing the Stars and Stripes and very well I might add.
Later on in the evening I thought that the situation in which the Anthem was written was funny.
Now don`t get me wrong I`ve nothing against the USA and have served alongside US troops when I was in the Army.
But honestly don`t you think it was funny that it was written while Keys was being held hostage on either HMS Surprise or HMS Minden at the time so they couldn`t tell the defenders about ships that were sneaking up to Bombard Fort McHenry Baltimore I believe it was. A battle which the British lost in the end.
hugs
Jackie
Comments
The Stars and Stripes Anthem
AND it is to the tune of a DRINKING song popular at the time.
May Your Light Forever Shine
In case you didn't' know
The kids were probably The Cactus Cuties. You're right; they sang beautifully.
Susie
Stars and Stripes Forever?
You should include a link. I think you may be getting two songs mixed up. "Stars and Stripes Forever" is the national march and military anthem for the US, it was written by John Philip Sousa (and originally named after a news paper). \
The rest of what you say is about the "Star Spangled Banner", the USAian national anthem, based on a poem by Keys (he wasn't exactly a hostage, he was negotiating the release of a hostage, but not allowed to leave until after the battle). But, yeah, it is a weird song about a weird war. (A piddly little country got their asses whipped by the ground forces scrubs of a major power (and its biggest colony), until the last battle. Then British regulars did show up and got creamed in what is about the third worst screw up in British military history and is still remembered as a great American victory. (Listen to this) (but, thank you; a hundred and seventy years later and I'm still very happy Jackson became President, and he couldn't have without your help.) Meanwhile at sea, the piddly country beat the pants off the greatest naval power ever seen, until the last sea battle. It was nice of the Brits to never send anything bigger than a frigate though, because the Americans didn't have anything bigger than a frigate (that the Brits were trying to blockade the entirety of Europe just then, might have had a bit to do with that, but making your boats on the Great Lakes carry cast iron water tanks (they're fresh water lakes, duh, and ships built there couldn't get out until locks were built a hundred years later) instead of more powder turned out to be a bad idea too.) However, if your name is Congreve, you should be thankful to Francis Scott Keys, because without his poem no one would remember your ancestor's. or much removed cousin's, very screwed up rockets )))
The Anacreontic Song
The tune (and original lyrics) originated with a drinking club for amateur musicians - which may explain its complexity.
The original lyrics can be found at Wikisource, and it's certainly possible it was sung far more up-tempo than the anthem (here's one rendition).
Then again, anthem-wise, we have a dirge-like ode to the monarchy and many are embarrassed by the two most likely alternatives as they're very empire-istic - Land of Hope and Glory (which includes the lyrics "Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set" - not very PC these days!) and Rule Britannia (we don't have much of a Navy any more - heck, we currently haven't got a single aircraft carrier and one of the two currently under construction will be mothballed immediately after completion).
Given how self-critical we are, perhaps we could instead go with a slightly satirical suggestion...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
The real Story
Haven't you ever wondered what Keys was doing on an English ship during a battle? Kind of a strange place for a Patriot to be, isn't it?
Keys was not being held hostage, he was in the drunk tank. He and a buddy had gotten snockered and decided to harass the English sailors, so they were tossed in the brig to sleep it off.
The story doesn't work so well when you are trying to publicize your new revolutionary song, so that part gets glossed over when you write the history book. Heaven forbid some schoolkid might think the founding fathers were less than perfect.