Tomlinson may have commissioned him to write the tune for his new lyrics. He was not a member of the club but was well known in London as organist at the Chapel Royal, a composer and a writer about music. John Stafford Smith (1750–1836) wrote the music. The name of the club became “The Anacreontic Society,” in honor of ‘that jolly old Grecian.’ The title of the new song came from the opening line, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” and it became widely known by this name within a short time after its first publication in around 1779 (the year of Francis Scott Key’s birth). Anacreon wrote extensively about women and wine, and that was his main attraction to the London gentlemen. Tomlinson’s lyrics tell of Anacreon, a Greek poet who was born about 572 B.C. I’ll lend you my name and inspire you to boot,Īnd besides I’ll instruct you like me to entwine Voice, fiddle and flute no longer be mute, When this answer arrived from that jolly old Grecian: That he their inspirer and patron should be.
LYRICS FOR THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER SONG FULL
To Anacreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee, One of the club’s founders, Ralph Tomlinson (1744–1778), wrote the words in 1776, at about the same time he became president of the club. In 1780, the diverse membership included “peers, commoners, aldermen, gentlemen, proctors, actors, and polite tradesmen.” The meetings included a formal concert, a dinner, and a social time afterwards during which the members entertained each other by singing catches, glees, and amusing songs. The club met every other week in the winter. The song dates from the mid-1770s and it was composed for a group of London gentlemen who had recently formed a social club. Unlike most common melodies, we know who wrote the original words, music, and why! In fact, by 1820, eighty-four were written in the United States alone. Many sets of lyrics have been written to the melody that Key chose for his verses that eventually became our national anthem. Melodies to theater songs were used for dancing, and dance tunes, even fast Irish jigs, were sometimes given sets of words. These melodies, known by name by almost everyone, were used for whatever purpose presented itself-a political song, a hymn, a march tune, a drinking song, or a country dance. Before there was copyright protection, melodies were recycled over and over again. Many lyrics for songs written in the 18th and early 19th centuries were based upon popular melodies. That Francis Scott Key borrowed a popular melody for his famous song is very much in keeping with common practice of his time period. Moreover, they noted that the old British drinking song - with its challenging range of 19 semitones - to which Key’s words were attached remained ill-suited to the vocal range of many Americans.The words to our national anthem have nothing to do with consumption of alcohol, but the melody that Francis Scott Key had in mind when he wrote those words did originate decades earlier as the melody for a song in praise of wine. Detractors claimed that Linthicum, whose district encompassed parts of Baltimore, was eager to promote the city’s history more than he was in furthering patriotism. asking that the bill be enacted into law.”Īlthough the House approved the bill on April 21, 1930, the measure drew its share of critics. Also included in his submission were “letters and telegrams from 25 governors. Linthicum also submitted to the panel a petition of support with more than 5 million individual signatures, accompanied by resolutions and sympathetic letters from 150 organizations. “This country needs a national song to give expression to its patriotism,” he said. Linthicum urged his colleagues to attend the session. It took nearly a year for Linthicum to secure a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, which claimed jurisdictional authority over the measure. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying above the fort before the American victory. Key (1779-1843) was a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet who had witnessed the bombardment of the fort by ships of the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.