Episode 96

Oh Say, Can You See?

‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry. It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation’s official ‘choon. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a ‘contrafactum’ is; explore why the US national anthem is so notoriously tricky to sing; and question what meaning ‘the land of the free’ held for Baltimore’s enslaved Africans…&nbsp; Further Reading:• ‘Francis Scott Key - National Anthem, War of 1812 & Facts’ (Biography, 2021): <a href="https://www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key</a>• ‘To Anacreon In Heaven’ (Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine):<a href="https://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/to-anacreon-in-heaven.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/to-anacreon-in-heaven.htm</a>• ‘Top 10 American National Anthem Performance Fails’ (Watch Mojo, 2015): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffxvV1PAEI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffxvV1PAEI</a> For bonus material and to support the show, visit<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patreon.com/Retrospectors</a>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">podfollow.com/Retrospectors</a> The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Person #Music #US <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Today In History with The Retrospectors

September 14, 202111m 17s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (pdst.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Original episode page

Show Notes

‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.

It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation’s official ‘choon.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a ‘contrafactum’ is; explore why the US national anthem is so notoriously tricky to sing; and question what meaning ‘the land of the free’ held for Baltimore’s enslaved Africans…