Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means.
The ground is not constant in every part of the world. Grass, sand, dirt, rocks, and everything in between is always changing underneath our feet. The sky is always shifting when new shapes and colors pass above our heads as we carry out our lives. It is baffling to think that people surrounded in a world of change believe it is possible to stick to one way of living. The belief in following a tradition can come from multiple ideals. The United States has an abundance of these traditions, and sometimes it is hard to notice when you are within one. The Star Spangled Banner is a prime example of a long-standing tradition in the United States, where it is usually played before national sporting events. Americans believe that the national anthem represents the greatness of America, and some believe that it honors our fallen soldiers and military. It is traditional to stand with our hands on our hearts, facing the flag while the anthem plays. The recent phenomenon of NFL players kneeling at the national anthem is a call to attention for the victims affected by racial inequality and police brutality within our country. Interestingly, NFL players weren’t required to be on the field during the anthem until 2009. Regardless, this show of taking a knee seems to many as a menace to their tradition. Some people were thoroughly opposed to these protests, including our own country’s leader. The president of the United States calling these gestures a “total disrespect of our
However, The Star-Spangled Banner is also not just America’s national anthem, but it is also a part of the American heritage.
The pledge of allegiance and “Star Spangled Banner” are examples of compulsive patriotism in America that not everyone sees. The Pledge of Allegiance and the “Star-Spangled Banner” are orthodoxes Americans have recited for many years since the 1800s. The pledge of allegiance was practiced everyday in the beginning of class, starting at kindergarten, having all the students and teachers participate. I do not call to mind ever learning about what the pledge signified or meant. Never did I ask myself why we said this pledge of allegiance every single day, it was just a mandatory order of each day. The “Star Spangled Banner” is the national anthem that is recited before sport’s events, like football games, and also at official government procedures. Both are traditions in America that show pride for their country, it’s freedom, and history.
The nationa anthem of the U.S. is The Star Spangled Banner. The song was originally a poem, written by lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812. On September 3, 1814, while the war still raged, Francis Scott Key boarded a British ship near Baltimore, Maryland. President James Madison had given the lawyer permission to try to persuade two British officers to release an American prisoner.Key might have overheard plans for an overnight attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore. They decided to keep Key until after the battle was over. Key waited on board the British ship, anxious about how the battle would turn out. In the morning, he saw that the American flag continued to fly above the fort. The U.S. had won the battle. At
War, a brutal, barbaric and animalistic concept that contradicts the essence of being human. War by Edwin Starr, and Happy Christmas by John Lennon are songs promoting the anti-war movement. Released in 1970 and 1972, whilst the war of Vietnam continues, both of these song depicts tone and mood through the themes love, peace and unity. Both artists has incorporated literary devices within the lyrics to convey the message and resonate it towards the audience.
Their eyes searched the sky for a glimpse of the American flag that flew above the fort. Finally in the early hours of September 14, 1814 Francis Scott Key saw the Star Spangled Banner standing tall above Fort McHenry. The sight so inspired him that he wrote a poem entitled, "The Defense of Fort McHenry" which was published as a broadside and later set to the tune of an old British drinking song. The Great Garrison Flag that flew above Fort McHenry was the inspiration for the name "The Star Spangled Banner" and still hangs in the Smithsonian in Washington
Americans were fighting Britain at Fort McHenry with all their pride, for example the Americans were fighting Britain because they had a reason and never gave up on fighting. During the battle the Americans had luck because Fort McHenry could have been destroyed if a the bomb went off where they had the gun powder and Francis Scott Key was inspired by the pride of victory and the flag was still hanging at Fort McHenry, so he wrote the National Anthem.
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? The United States National Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”, was originally written as a poem in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. The National Anthem, originally written as a poem titled “Defence of Fort McHenry”, was written during the War of 1812 and later music was added. In 1889, the United States Navy adopted it as the National Anthem, but it was not official until the U.S Congress made it in 1931. To a lot of people the National Anthem represents patriotism, freedom, bravery, and a way of showing respect to our military.
The War of 1812 signified a military conflict between the USA and the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It’s known for many things, but the most memorable event in this period was the writing of the Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key. His devotion to his country and inspiration to do anything for freedom led him to write this song, which eventually became our national anthem. He once said, “It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone.” (Francis Scott Key) The feeling that came across Scott’s being was a realization of true freedom. Both sides of the war had suffered losses, but America gained an ability to sail and trade freely. Freedom shed light once again.
One of the best known of the official military songs is the Marine Corps Hymn. And yet, no one knows who made it or exactly how old it is. Legend has it that it dates back to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). It wasn’t officially copyrighted until 1917 when W.E. Christian published it in the book “Rhymes of Rookies” (Gutenberg.org). Even though we don’t know its exact origin, we do know what the song stands for and what it means. The hymn praises the idealism of the Marine Corps and also looks back on historic moments Marines have dealt with and overcome.
Before each and every game, the Virginia Tech basketball coach, Buzz Williams, explained to the team how important the National Anthem was to America, and everyone living in it. He brought in a group of Military Veterans to demonstrate a point towards the basketball team. There were chairs lined up where the Veterans would sit, and while watching the game from the sidelines. The coach brought the team over, and discussed to them that the chairs were not for them, they were for the Veterans. Buzz started explaining to the team just how important, and showing telling them things that they might not have thought about before; about how they gave up their entire life to go fight for our Country. Their education, they completely redirected their
One of the most popular songs in the North and South was during the Civil War whih was “The Battle Cry of Freedom. It was written it 1862 by George Frederick Root, whom was an American composer during the era of the Civil War. The song possessed two versions in which it could be interpreted differently depending on the regions point of view. Both regions in the North and the South had lyrics that were modified when compared together. The Union and the Confederacy both demonstrates their mottos and their objectives.
The song Glory was written by music artists Common and John Legend and was part of the Oscar nominated movie Selma. The movie Selma was an incredible experience that showcased the African American history and in particular the turbulent 1960s era in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr(MLK) was leading the civil rights movement. The song Glory itself won the oscar for the best song in a motion picture and truly was an important part of the movie because not only did it chronicle the civil rights marches of 1965 led by MLK but it also incorporated events that occurred in the 21st century. It was this combination that made the song a true inspiration for all human beings because it shed a light on the struggle for racial equality that African Americans have been pursuing for over a century now and also showed that the struggle is still ongoing and is far from over. The song Glory through its lyrics included several key moments in the struggle for racial equality for African Americans such as the Rosa Parks incident, Ferguson, MLK civil rights marches and through all of these events the common theme of defiance and resistance is brought to light.
Today, we tell the story of how a British attack on Fort McHenry in the port of Baltimore led to "The Star-Spangled Banner," America 's national anthem.