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"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the National Anthem of the United States , with lyrics written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key . Key, a 35-year-old Lawyer and amateur Poet , wrote them as a poem after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore , Maryland , by British ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War Of 1812 . The poem, titled "Defense of Fort McHenry," was set to the tune of the popular British Drinking Song "The Anacreontic Song", more commonly known by its first line, " To Anacreon In Heaven ," and became a well-known American Patriotic Song . With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. It was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a Congressional Resolution on 3 March 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 USC §301). Although the song has four Stanza s, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand ...") added on more formal occasions. HISTORY Early history .]] On September 3 , 1814 , Key and John S. Skinner, an American prisoner-exchange agent, set sail from Baltimore aboard the sloop HMS ''Minden'' flying a Flag Of Truce on a mission approved by U.S. President James Madison . Their objective was to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro , a friend of Key’s who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding in the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the British Flagship , HMS ''Tonnant'' , on 7 September and spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner, while they discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment. Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for The Attack On Baltimore , they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS ''Surprise'' , and later back on HMS Minden . After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city's last line of defense. During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the Fort ’s smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shelling had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered, and the larger flag had been raised. 's original manuscript copy of his Star-Spangled Banner poem. It is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society.]] Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American Flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag and is today on display in the National Museum Of American History , a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution . It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler , and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program. Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on 16 September, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He finished the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and he entitled it "Defence of Fort McHenry." Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson. Nicholson saw that the words fit the popular melody " To Anacreon In Heaven ", an old British drinking song from the mid-1760s, composed in London by John Stafford Smith . Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously printed Broadside copies of it—the song’s first known printing—on 17 September ; of these, two known copies survive. On to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner", although it was originally called "Defence of Fort McHenry." The song’s popularity increased, and its first public performance took place in October, when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley’s Tavern . The song gained popularity throughout the nineteenth century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4 celebrations. On 27 July 1889 , Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy signed General Order #374, making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official tune to be played at the raising of the flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. Although the playing of the song two years later during the Seventh-inning Stretch of the 1918 World Series is often noted as the first instance that the Anthem was played at a Baseball game, evidence shows that the "Star-Spangled Banner" was performed as early as 1897 at Opening Day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. Today, the anthem is performed before the beginning of all NBA , NHL , MLB and NFL games. On published his opinion in favor, stating that "it is the spirit of the music that inspires" as much as it is Key’s "soul-stirring" words. By a law signed on 3 March 1931 by President Herbert Hoover , "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the national anthem of the United States. Modern history The first modern non-traditional arrangement of the anthem heard by mainstream America was by 's Funk -influenced performance at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game , and Whitney Houston 's stirring, high-note filled rendition before Super Bowl XXV in 1991, which when released as a single charted at number 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001--the only times the anthem has been on the Billboard Hot 100 . Another famous instrumental interpretation is Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solo at the first Woodstock Festival . Incorporating Sonic Effects to emphasize the "rockets' red glare" and "bombs bursting in air", it became a late-1960s emblem. In March 2005, the government-sponsored The National Anthem Project was launched after a Harris Interactive poll showed many adults knew neither the lyrics nor the history of the anthem. Harris Interactive poll on "The Star-Spangled Banner" LYRICS ''O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,'' ''What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,'' ''Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight'' ''O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?'' ''And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air'' ''Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;'' ''O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave'' ''O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave'' On the shore, dimly seen thro’ the mist of the deep, Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream ’Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation, Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our Trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. PROTOCOL When the song is performed in public, it is customary for American citizens to stand and face the American Flag , if one is displayed, in an attitude of respectful attention.National Anthem Committee National Anthem Code of the United States . Passed 1942. If no flag is on display, it is customary to stand and face the source of the music in the same respectful attitude of attention as if the flag were on display. Men are also encouraged to remove their hats during the performance. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, military personnel, fire service, and law enforcements officer in uniform normally salute during the national anthem from the first note and hold the salute until the last note is played. Civilians who are citizens of the United States should salute by placing their right hand over their heart. http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html#171 TRANSLATIONS As a result of immigration to the United States, the lyrics of the song were translated into other languages. In 1861, it was translated into .Christopher M. Brunelle Third Verse in Latin . Published 1999. Nuestro Himno A Spanish-language recording of the "Star-Spangled Banner" called " Nuestro Himno " was released on 28 April 2006. This was a few days before nationwide demonstrations on 1 May regarding amnesty. This recording was created as a show of support for all illegal immigrants in the United States in response to a proposed crackdown on illegal immigration. "Nuestro Himno" used the text of the Spanish-language version translated by Francis Haffkine Snow of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" called "La Bandera de Estrellas." This version was published by the US Bureau of Education in 1919. This same translation is on the United States Department Of State 's website. A reproduction of the original sheet music is on the Library of Congress website. Public reaction to "Nuestro Himno" was widely divided. It drew this response from , 2006 . PERFORMANCES game in Coors Field .]] See Also: Performances and adaptations of The Star-Spangled Banner The song is notoriously difficult for nonprofessionals to sing, because its range is wide: an Octave and a half. Garrison Keillor has frequently campaigned for the performance of the anthem in the original key, G Major —which can, in fact, be managed by most average singers without difficulty.The city council of Solana Beach, California unanimously passed a resolution calling for G major to be the anthem's official key "when audiences are asked to sing it" on June 15 2004 . (It is usually played in A-flat or B-flat.) Humorist Richard Armour referred to the song's difficulty in his book ''It All Started With Columbus'' Professional and amateur singers have been known to forget the words, which is one reason the song is so often prerecorded and lip-synced. Other times the issue is avoided by having the performer(s) play the anthem instrumentally instead of singing it. This situation was lampooned in the comedy film '' The Naked Gun '', as its star Leslie Nielsen , undercover as opera singer Enrico Pallazzo at a baseball game, made mincemeat of the lyrics. The prerecording of the anthem has become standard practice at some ballparks (such as Boston's Fenway Park , according to the SABR publication ''The Fenway Project'') Red Sox Connection The Fenway Project - Part One . Published May 2004 MUSICAL REFERENCES The tune has been referenced in many other musical compositions.
REFERENCES IN FILM Several films have their titles taken from the song lyrics. These include two films entitled ''Dawn's Early Light'' (2000 and 2005 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489465/ ), two Made-For-TV features entitled ''By Dawn's Early Light'' (1990 and 2000 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247232/ ), two films entitled ''So Proudly We Hail'' (1943 and 1990 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100647/ ), and a feature (1977 and a short (2005 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481428/ ) both entitled ''Twilight's Last Gleaming''. One version each of ''By Dawn's Early Light'' and ''Twilight's Last Gleaming'' deal with Nuclear Warfare . As well as ''Home of the Brave'' (2006 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0763840/]) MEDIA REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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