facts about the star spangled banner song

Of all of the songs performed in front of American crowds, you would think that our national anthem would be the easiest. # 5: The Song is Surprisingly Not Easy to Sing Originally, it was designed to be sung by a group of people together, but today it has been converted into a much slower song sung by a soloist and often without any musical accompaniment. What you hear today when the Star-Spangled Banner is sung is much different than what it sounded like over 200 years ago. # 4: Today’s Version of the Anthem is Much Different f rom the Original The subtitle of the song was supposed to read “A Patriotic Song,” but it wound up being printed as “A Pariotic Song.” There are about a dozen copies of the original printing left today. When sheet music for the Star-Spangled Banner was printed for the first time in 1814, the original printing featured a glaring misspelling. # 3 : The Original Sheet Music Featured a Spelling Mistake It was Key’s brother-in-law who bridged the poem to the tune of To Anacreon in Heav’n. Key was inspired to write the poem after seeing the American flag raised in victory after the 27-hour-long bombardment of Baltimore by the British. It was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th century men’s social club in London.įrancis Scott Key was a poet, not a musician, so the words he wrote were originally in the form of a poem which was to be titled Defense of Fort McHenry. The melody is actually based on an old English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heav’n. But, in truth, it has no basis in American music whatsoever. There’s no arguing that the melody that our anthem is set to is bombastic, emotional, and all-American. #1: The Melody is Based on an Old English Drinking Song 10 Interesting Facts about the National Anthem Here are ten interesting facts about the Star-Spangled Banner that just might surprise you. So, with March 3 officially being recognized as National Anthem Day, there’s no better time to take a closer look at our country’s most beloved song. Written by lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key while being held prisoner aboard a British ship during the bombardment of Baltimore, the poem has had a dramatic impact on the shaping of America, our sense of patriotism, and our enduring love for our country.īut, despite everything we’re taught in school about our national anthem, there remain some things that aren’t as well known. Our country’s national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, is nothing if not inspiring.

Facts about the star spangled banner song