Ok, quickly now – in the USA National Anthem, what are the words after “whose broad stripes and bright stars”? Who wrote that piece anyhow? And does that song have a name other that “And Now Please Rise For Our National Anthem”?
If you knew that the next words are “through the perilous fight”, that the author of the text is Francis Scott Key, and that the piece is called “The Star Spangled Banner” you are in the minority. A recent Harris poll found that while many of us THINK we know the national anthem, we really don’t. Fewer than 15% of all teenagers surveyed know the anthem from memory. One interesting fact is that those adults and teens who DO know the anthem learned it in a music class in school – the others learned it at a sporting event or don’t remember where they first heard it.
The National Association for Music Education (MENC) is proud to sponsor an initiative to give all Americans a voice for their patriotism by encouraging everyone to learn the anthem and sing it publicly. The hope is to focus on the importance of music education in our everyday lives, and how music enriches us even in the most common experiences, like singing the national anthem.
It is not an easy piece to sing – but that is the fun of it! It really is a very dramatic song, and one that is full of history. The tune is an old English drinking song from the 18th century. Francis Scott Key wrote the poem in 1814 after witnessing a battle at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. He expected the next morning to find Baltimore under British control, and was surprised to find a tattered American flag still flying over Fort McHenry.
For more information about the National Anthem Project, go to http://www.thenationalanthemproject.org/