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.

Trivia

• The lyrics can be sung to the tune of the National Anthem of the Soviet Union or the National Anthem of Russia (same tune, different Russian lyrics) with no modification, since all of them are in Alexandrine meter. There is a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner to this tune by Iron Curtain.
• The tune "To Anacreon in Heaven" was at one time the national anthem of Luxembourg.
• Because it is the most explicitly anti-British verse (and also fairly gory), the third is virtually never sung.
• The first stanza is full of questions. It is in the other stanzas that these questions are answered, although they are almost never sung.
• The Minden was built at Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, India.
• A common stage trick done by vocalists is, during the singing of the words "free" and "brave" near the end of the song, to jump up to the tonic as a demonstration of virtuosity. For example, when Whitney Houston performed the song at Super Bowl XXV, her voice jumped to higher notes on the word "free" than was intended in the original song.
• Mariah Carey hit the B6 note in her rendition of The Star Spangled Banner at the 2002 Superbowl.
• A similar trick may also be done by instrumentalists, who play higher notes on the same words as the vocalists. Saxophonist David Sanborn did this in a duet with Brian McKnight when they performed together at the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. When McKnight sang "free," Sanborn responded by playing a much higher note on his saxophone.
• In March 2005 a government sponsored program was started in the USA to help the population learn the lyrics of the national anthem.