I grew up learning the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, and this beloved anthem was always a song of true respect. Once I got into the music education field (and the education field in general), I was amazed at how many children did not know the words to this song. They didn’t know what was considered proper during this song. Francis Scott Key? Who is he? On this date in 1779, Francis Scott Key was born. He was born in Maryland, and he was the poet behind our national anthem. He was inspired to write it during the War of 1812. I didn’t know that he was pro-slavery, and he worked very hard to see that opponents of slavery were discouraged from espousing their views. But no matter what, we still have him to thank for our glorious national anthem.
Since I know now that Key was pro-slavery, I thought this might be a nice video to embed here. Here is one of the greatest African-American pop singers ever singing this song. And it is true that Whitney Houston was awesome on this even though I am not a big fan of hers.
For more info:
http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/francis-scott-key.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key
http://francisscottkey.org/
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4 Comments
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I think they must not teach things like the Star Spangled Banner in school anymore, like they used to. It is a shame
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Author
It is truly a shame. I would love to see it change, but it seems like things are continuing to spiral in the wrong direction.
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I’m surprised that you’ve come across so many children who don’t know the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner. I remember having to learn it starting in first grade.
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It is rather amazing, I know. These are the same kids who don’t even know when we became a country.
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