Existing comment:
After the song was written:
O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the Land of the free, and the home of the brave?
-- Francis Scott Key, "The Star-Spangled Banner," 1814
Carried by the Tune:
The publication of the music together with Key's words increased the popularity of his song even further.
Thomas Carr of Carr's Music Store in Baltimore was the first publisher in October 1814, and was responsible for changing the title. The new name, "The Star-Spangled Banner," gave the song a universal and lasting appeal.
At that time, it was common to put new words to existing tunes. Key almost certainly had the tune "To Anacreon in Heaven" in mind when he wrote the lyrics. He had already written an earlier song to this melody, as had 80 other authors by 1814. The established popularity of the music helped "The Star-Spangled Banner" to spread so quickly. "To Anacreon in Heaven" was written around 1770 by two Englishmen for a gentleman's social club in London. Ralph Tomlinson, who penned the lyrics, and John Stafford Smith, who composed the music, belonged to the Anacreontic Society, named in honor of the classical Greek poet, Anacreon. Primarily focused on music, members humorously states they were dedicated to "wit, harmony and the god of wine." Opponents of the campaign to make "The Star-Spangled Banner" the National Anthem were later to allege that its music was inappropriate, claiming it was an English drinking song. |