We all know that the national anthem of the United States is “The Star-Spangled Banner.” And we all know that its soaring music and inspiring, historic words cause shivers to run proudly along our spines when we hear its familiar notes and recall its lyrics.
Most of us also know it’s hard to sing – but we love it.
The national anthem is in the news these days because Christina Aguilera had trouble singing the words correctly at the beginning of the Super Bowl last Sunday. She’s not the first (and surely not the last) to have difficulty with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” She deserves some sympathy in her embarrassment. But she’ll never live it down. Whenever she’s mentioned, many will remember “that performance” over all others.
But this provides a good time for us to recall some of the important history of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Many of us remember, from our school days, that the words were written as a poem by Francis Scott Key after he saw the British Navy’s bombardment of the United States’ Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.