The Star-Spangled Banner

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics were written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland by British ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. It became well known as a patriotic song to the tune of a popular English drinking song, "To Anacreon in Heaven." While it was recognized for official use by the United States Navy (1889) and by the White House (1916), it was made the national anthem by a Congressional resolution on March 3, 1931. Although the song has four verses, only the first is commonly sung today.

In fiction

"The Star-Spangled Banner" has often been referenced in fiction and pop culture:

Related Topics:
Fiction - Pop culture

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• In the 1997 film Men in Black, a group of aliens sing a song that closely resembles the National Anthem in gibberish. The anthem is also featured in the 2002 sequel Men in Black II, in which another group of aliens living in a locker sing the song to honor the man who has given them a watch to keep time. One version of the song goes: "Oh 'K,' can you see..." until 'Agent K' (Tommy Lee Jones) removes his watch from the locker, upsetting the aliens. When 'Agent J' (Will Smith) puts his own watch into the locker, the aliens are happy again, and they sing: "Oh 'J,' can you see..."
• In the original BBC version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the characters Ford and Zaphod sing a "Betelgeuse Death Anthem", the melody of which somewhat resembles the U.S. National Anthem, albeit very much off-key and with lyrics in a presumably made-up language that sounds like gibberish.