Georgetown lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key-second cousin three times removed and namesake of 20th century author F. Americans may view the song as a glorious part of their national heritage, but the song’s actual history is, shall we say, more complicated. Moreover, the history of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is not exactly unblemished. And "My Country 'tis of Thee" was commonly sung at public celebrations. Before that, "Hail Columbia" was usually played at ceremonial events. Yet for all the song’s iconic status, it's only been America's national anthem since 1931. The song is as American as baseball (literally) and apple pie, and for many, the song is almost as sacred “mom.” When Christina Aguilera botched the words at the 2011 Super Bowl, viewers screamed for her head.
And a baseball game just doesn’t seem right unless “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been sung. Every four years we proudly watch American athletes accept Olympic Gold and then smile and cry through a playing of the song. Many students start their school day with an a cappella rendition. We've all strained to hit the high notes-dropped down an octave at "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air." And we've all seen some professional singer (Christina Aguilera, Michael Bolton, Anita Baker) butcher the song-miss some note, forget or mangle some line that, to be fair, sounds a lot like another.īut it's America's anthem, deeply embedded in national history, and we accept the challenge of singing the song as part of the American experience.
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