FRON ENGLISH DRINKING SONG TO AMERICA’S NATIONAL ANTHEM

Here’s something I just learned about the origin of ‘The Star Bangled Banner’ after reading a column by Wesley Pruden:

The anthem was originally an English drinking song, "To Anacreon in Heaven," and even as "The Star-Spangled Banner" almost nobody sober can properly sing it. The song was frequently sung at a London drinking club as a tribute to the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, and the club made the mistake of inviting the Duchess of Devonshire to one of its meetings. She primly observed that some of the comic songs "were not exactly calculated for the entertainment of ladies," and after the singers restrained themselves several members resigned, "one after the other." The club was dissolved.

A century later the tune was revived when Francis Scott Key was inspired by the assault on Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor to write a poem - the first words being, "Oh, say" - and set to music it became the national anthem in 1931, beating out the much easier to sing "America, the Beautiful."

So, does the fact that The Star Bangled Banner originated as an English drinking song make our national anthem less sacred? Hell no! It just makes it more colorful.

And to every American I say: Stand proudly at attention every time the national anthem is played! If you fail to stand, you will be dishonoring our country.