theory about the star spangled banner song

The Truth: For years, baseball historians have known about this falsehood, but many published references lacked a citation. Myth 4: The Star-Spangled Banner first aired at a sporting event during the 1918 World Series. The fourth verse reveals his true, qualified take on warfare: “then conquer we must, when our cause it is just.” The lines “rocket’s red glare” and “bomb bursting in air” (as he wrote them) merely described what he saw as the British navy shelled Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor. The truth: Key opposed the War of 1812 but participated in the futile defense of Washington, D.C. Someone other than Key brought it to the offices of the Baltimore American newspaper, where the printer affixed this title to a broadside – a sheet of paper with words or images published on one side – the first time Key’s words appear in print. Thomas Carr, who published the initial sheet music version, called it The Star Spangled Banner The truth: Key’s original manuscript, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society, has no title. Myth 2: Key called his poem The Defense of Fort M’Henry. Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang took advantage of Key’s modesty and created the confusion by claiming credit for pairing verse and tune. The myth arose because Key remained mum about his association with the song, never sought a dime of royalties and only spoke about it once during his lifetime at a banquet more than 20 years after he wrote it (deflecting all praise to the men who defended Baltimore). Key purposely wrote the four verses that later became known as the national anthem to this popular tune, which underpinned at least 84 previous musical compositions. The truth: In the days before copyright enforcement, poets often used existing melodies to animate their muse, a practice called parody at the time. Myth 1: Key wrote a poem that someone else later matched with the melody of a song that originated in England called “To Anacreon in Heaven.”

To clear things up, here are 5 myths about the Star-Spangled banner.

Francis Scott Key is partly to blame for an endemic lack of knowledge about the national anthem. Though written in 1814, The Star-Spangled Banner is one of the most misunderstood songs in United States history, despite its ubiquity in our culture.

Theory about the star spangled banner song