In another example of American music sampling (which some simply call plagiarism), the melody for “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” is repurposed from the British national anthem, “God Save the Queen.” Neither Key’s early hymn nor the Barbary War is widely taught in American schools anymore (except for the reference in the Marines’ Hymn: “To the shores of Tripoli”).
Key wrote his poem to fit the beat and melody of British composer John Stafford Smith’s “To Anacreon in Heaven” - a popular tune Key had used for an earlier hymn to America’s military might, “When the Warrior Returns,” which celebrated U.S. 20, 1814.Īnd if you think music sampling - the art of taking a piece of music from one song and using it in another - was invented by hip-hop artists, take out your history books. pluckiness that he wrote a poem, “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” which he published on Sept. He was allowed to return to Baltimore on Sept. It is the same music that served the Nazi era and is used today for the reunified Germany - though the words are different. McHenry to view the original manuscript.īut national anthems are strange creatures, reaching deep into the past and then taking a twist through contemporary politics and culture.įor Germans, for example, their anthem’s music was written in 1797 by Joseph Haydn to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire. On Friday, President Obama traveled to Ft. Yes, the song that has been the nation’s musical glue through war and peace, the song that has been the bane of singers of all ages and creeds and led to performances both tragic and mesmerizing, and the song lip-synced by zealous fans at sports events near and wide, yes, that song is celebrating a milestone birthday.įor the area around Baltimore, the birthplace of the anthem, the celebration is a major tourist draw, prompting spectacles such as tall ships, aerial acrobatics star-studded concerts and fireworks. Americans this weekend will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the poem that became the nation’s national anthem, a bit of verse written by a pro-slavery lawyer put to the melody of a British song that praised drinking and sex.