Snowmom Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Some great information about this song and Francis Scott Key. Did you know there were 4 stanzas???? Have you ever sang all four??? :usaflag2: http://www.strangecosmos.com/content/item/127113.html The REAL Story of "The Star Spangled Banner" - MUST READ! Unless you know all four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you may find this most interesting. Perhaps most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship. This is a good brush-up on your history. (Editor's Note- Near the end of his life, the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor......)" I have a weakness -- I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time." NO REFUGE COULD SAVE: BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said. "That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff". I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem. More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me. So now let me tell you how it came to be written. In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britiain , primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia . If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war. At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England , hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession. Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack. The Northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England . The Southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New orleans and paralyze the west. The Central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong. The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry , whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort. On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release. The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start. As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew. As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?" After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States. Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key: Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ("Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort.) The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer: On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep. As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream 'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! "The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise? During World War I when the British were our Staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is: And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. (The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling): Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation, Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, for our cause is just, And this be our motto --"In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words and don't let them ever take it away ... not even one word of it. and IT'S SUNG IN ENGLISH! Submitted by Ann S. **************************************** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search "The Star-Spangled Banner" One of two surviving copies of the 1814 broadside printing of the Defence of Fort McHenry, a poem that later became the national anthem of the United States. National Anthem Writer(s) Francis Scott Key (lyrics) "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the U.S.A., with lyrics written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. Key, a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, wrote them as a poem after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, by British ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. The poem, titled "Defence of Fort McHenry," was set to the tune of the popular British drinking song "The Anacreontic Song", more commonly known by its first line, "To Anacreon in Heaven," and became a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being notoriously difficult to sing. It was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a Congressional resolution on 3 March 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 USC §301). Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand ...") added on more formal occasions. An artist's rendering of the battle at Fort McHenry.On September 3, 1814, Key and John S. Skinner, an American prisoner-exchange agent, set sail from Baltimore aboard the sloop HMS Minden flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by U.S. President James Madison. Their objective was to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro, a friend of Key’s who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding in the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the British flagship, HMS Tonnant, on 7 September and spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner, while they discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment. Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise, and later back on Minden. After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city's last line of defense. During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort’s smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shelling had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered, and the larger flag had been raised. 15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" flag Francis Scott Key's original manuscript copy of his Star-Spangled Banner poem. It is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society.Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program. Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on 16 September, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He finished the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and he entitled it "Defense of Fort McHenry." Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson. Nicholson saw that the words fit the popular melody "To Anacreon in Heaven", an old British drinking song from the mid-1760s, composed in London by John Stafford Smith. Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously printed broadside copies of it—the song’s first known printing—on 17 September; of these, two known copies survive. On 20 September, both the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the song, with the note "Tune: Anacreon in Heaven". The song quickly became popular, with seventeen newspapers from Georgia to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner", although it was originally called "Defense of Fort McHenry." The song’s popularity increased, and its first public performance took place in October, when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley’s tavern. The song gained popularity throughout the nineteenth century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4 celebrations. On 27 July 1889, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy signed General Order #374, making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official tune to be played at the raising of the flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. Although the playing of the song two years later during the seventh-inning stretch of the 1918 World Series is often noted as the first instance that the Anthem was played at a baseball game, evidence shows that the "Star-Spangled Banner" was performed as early as 1897 at Opening Day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. Today, the anthem is performed before the first pitch at every game. On 3 November 1929, Robert Ripley drew a panel in his syndicated cartoon, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, saying "Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem." [3] In 1931, John Philip Sousa published his opinion in favor, stating that "it is the spirit of the music that inspires" as much as it is Key’s "soul-stirring" words. By a law signed on 3 March 1931 by President Herbert Hoover, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the national anthem of the United States. Modern history The first modern non-traditional arrangement of the anthem heard by mainstream America was by Puerto Rican singer and guitarist Jose Feliciano. He stunned the crowd at Tiger Stadium in Detroit and the rest of America when he strummed a slow, bluesy rendition of the national anthem before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series between Detroit and St. Louis. This rendition started contemporary "Star-Spangled Banner" controversies. The response from many in Vietnam-era America was generally negative, given that 1968 was a tumultuous year for the United States. Despite the controversy, Feliciano's performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the "Star-Spangled Banner" we hear today. [4] Another famous instrumental interpretation is Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solo at the first Woodstock Festival. Incorporating sonic effects to emphasize the "rockets' red glare" and "bombs bursting in air", it became a late-1960s emblem. In March 2005, the government-sponsored The National Anthem Project was launched after a Harris Interactive poll showed many adults knew neither the lyrics nor the history of the anthem. [1] Lyrics O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen thro’ the mist of the deep, Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream ’Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation, Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our Trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Protocol When the song is performed in public, it is customary for American citizens to stand and face the American flag, if one is displayed, in an attitude of respectful attention. If no flag is on display, it is customary to stand and face the source of the music in the same respectful attitude of attention as if the flag were on display. Men are also encouraged to remove their hats during the performance. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and military personnel, fire service, and law enforcements officer in uniform, normally salute during the national anthem from the first note and hold the salute until the last note is played. ============================================== ============================================================== http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdkey.htm Francis Scott Key, this is a page that has his life information. ================================ ================================ http://www.tc-solutions.com/croom/ssb.html The writing of The Star Spangled Banner First: The Official Story Now, what really happened: During the Revolutionary War, the British forces had, on rare occasions, burned government administration buildings in their sweeps through the rebellious colonies, destroying all the public records for the locality. During this war and the War of 1812, the government of the State of Maryland considered itself a likely target for British aggression, and so both times it had the state records transported from Annapolis to Upper Marlboro for safe keeping. As it turned out, Annapolis was spared during both campaigns, but, during the War of 1812, the town of Upper Marlboro was invaded by British forces, not once, not twice, but three times! During the War of 1812, a local government official, Dr. William Beanes, was responsible for the safety of the state records while they were stored in Upper Marlboro. During the time that the British forces were in Prince George's County, they were so taken by the beauty of the towns and the countryside, that they tried to have as small an impact on the area as any invading army could. As the army passed through Upper Marlboro on their way to Bladensburg and Washington, and on their return, they caused no damage to the community (with the singular exception of butchering a large quantity of livestock). As the British forces were withdrawing from the town of Upper Marlboro, two drunken stragglers were arrested by Dr. William Beanes, and thrown into jail. One escaped, caught up to his unit and reported what had happened. A detachment of British soldiers returned to Upper Marlboro to free the imprisoned soldier and to arrest Dr. Beanes. This detachment, again, preserved the beauty of the area, and the state and county records survived. In order to obtain the release of Dr. Beanes, the townspeople of Upper Marlboro enlisted the help of Mr. Francis Scott Key of Georgetown, and Colonel John Stuart Skinner of Croom. The two men travel to Baltimore to meet with Major General Robert Ross and Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn to request the release of Dr. Beanes. After he was released, the three men witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry, and Mr. Key was inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner. No doubt, Dr. Beanes was a true patriot, and the sight of an invading army marching through his community on its way to invade his nation's capital gave him great pain. No doubt, seeing two of its soldiers drunk on the streets of his community was more than he could stand, so, without much thought to the possible reaction of the invading army, he placed them under arrest. No doubt, it hadn't occurred to him that he was exposing the records of the Maryland State Government, not to mention the records of Prince George's County, to the wrath of an unopposed force with a penchant for leaving flames in its wake. The fact remains that the writing of our national anthem is a direct result of the ill-conceived acts of an over-zealous public official. Dr. William Beanes later attained the military rank of Major. =========================== ****************************** http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/anthem.html Here you will find the following: It was the valiant defense of Fort McHenry by American forces during the British attack on September 13, 1814 that inspired 35-year old, poet-lawyer Francis Scott Key to write the poem which was to become our national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." The poem was written to match the meter of the English song, "To Anacreon in Heaven." In 1931 the Congress of The United States of America enacted legislation that made "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official national anthem. Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines on the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! Francis Scott Key (1779 - 1843) "Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart spoke. Does not such a country, and such defenders of their country, deserve a song?..." Francis Scott Key, son of an established Maryland family, was born on August 1, 1779, in western Maryland (Frederick, MD) on the family estate of "Terra Rubra." He attended grammar school and later graduated from St. Johns College in Annapolis at age 17. By 1805, Key had established a law practice in Georgetown, Maryland, and, by 1814, had appeared many times before the U.S. Supreme Court. The site of his house on M Street is now a memorial park. Key was a religious man and was involved in the Episcopal church. Although opposed to the war, he served for a brief period in the Georgetown Light Field Artillery (1813-14). During the Battle of Bladensburg, Key assigned field positions to American troops - a duty he had no expertise in! In August 1814, Key's friend Dr. William Beanes was taken prisoner by the British army soon after its departure from Washington. Key left for Baltimore to obtain the services of Colonel John Skinner, the government's prisoner of war exchange agent. Together they sailed down the bay on a truce ship and met the British fleet. Key successfully negotiated the doctor's release, but was detained with Skinner and Beanes by the British until after the attack on Baltimore. Key's vessel (name unknown) was 8 miles below the fort during the bombardment, under the watchful care of a British warship. It was from this site that he witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry, after which he was inspired to write the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner." After the war, Key served as a United States District Attorney and continued his association with the Episcopal church, writing several hymns. On January 11, 1843, he died of pleurisy while visiting his sister in Baltimore. Today he rests in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland. The flag he so honored flies day and night here, and at Fort McHenry, as a reminder of those events in September 1814 that gave birth to our anthem and pride in our nation. (Note: There are also local monuments to Key at Fort McHenry, on Eutaw Place in Baltimore, and at the Presidio in San Francisco, California.) Key was the brother-in-law of Roger Brooke Taney who served as Chief Justice and administered the oath of office to Lincoln in 1861. =============== It also gives you other places to go to. ***************************************** More sites to go to: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/991581/posts http://www.francisscottkey.org/ http://www.150.si.edu/chap3/flag.htm http://www.150.si.edu/chap3/three.htm http://www.legallanguage.com/poems/StarSpangledBanner.html http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/OriginsofStarSpangledBann.html Long may our wave. Please be sure to check out, Project compassion, that PoGo posted it is really something. But, you will need Kleenex for sure. Link to comment
PoGo Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Great info, Snowmom. Thank you. Yes, I knew there are four stanzas. Link to comment
Momo Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Good info Snow. We used to have to sing all verses at school programs when I was a kid. Link to comment
Belle Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I knew it had 4 stanzas, but I've never sang all 4. I can barely make it through the first one without making the dog howl. That is one tough song to sing! Link to comment
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