Patriotic Music: Surprising Secrets About Those Flag-Waving
Sounds
Whether played by a marching band, an orchestra, or a rock
group, there are patriotic tunes that everyone in America finds
familiar, exciting and uplifting. But how much do you know about
how these songs were created? And what do you know about the
people who wrote them?
There are some surprising facts behind all of this glorious
music.
So, fire up the barbecue grill, look up at the fireworks, and
strike up the band as we reveal the secrets behind the most
influential nationalistic musical moments of all time.
"Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key, 1814. Schoolchildren
in America all learn how Key watched the British bombardment of
Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and so admired the courage
of the beleaguered American forces that he wrote four stanzas of
"The Star Spangled Banner" (only the first is usually
performed). Key based the melody on an English drinking song
called "To Anacreon in Heaven." The song has only been the
national anthem since 1931, and there was a strong movement to
replace it with one of the other songs on this list.
"America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)," Samuel F. Smith, 1832. The
music was composed in the 1700s, sometimes attributed to Henry
Cary. First popular in Great Britain as "God Save the King
(Queen)," the song became bi-continental in 1832. Modern
audiences have been greatly moved by the R&B version by Ray
Charles, a truly wonderful blending of emotion with what
musicians call "the groove."
"Rally 'Round the Flag," George F. Root, 1862. Written for the
Union army and its supporters during the Civil War, the song was
hugely popular in the North. This didn't prevent Confederate
troops from writing their own lyrics and singing the song
throughout the South.
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home," Louis Lambert, c. 1863.
Lambert was a pseudonym for Union Army Bandmaster Patrick S.
Gilmore. His lyrics, set to an old Irish folk song, were popular
through the whole Reconstruction Era (1865-1896). It appears in
an extended instrumental version on the soundtrack of Stanley
Kubrick's film "Dr. Strangelove."
"Battle Hymn of the Republic," Julia W. Howe, 1861. Howe is
another lyricist who succeeded by utilizing a pre-existing piece
of music, in this case a camp meeting tune of the 19th century
(which also became "John Brown's Body"). The profound power of
the words combined with the compelling melody cannot be denied,
and it was sung at the funerals of Winston Churchill, Robert
Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.
"Overture: 1812," Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880. Patriotic music
doesn