"Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

"Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

The "Star Spangled Banner" proved well suited to a D major flute as I found my way through it today. I heard it said that the tune is from an old English drinking song. Anyone know the title?

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by Arthur Nordstrom

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

It's called the Anacreonic Song. See

http://www.kitchenmusician.net/giftunes/anacreon.gif

for original words.

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by Jiml

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

Here's an original version;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2sVoGIiDaM

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by Ben Steen

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

And a damn fine drinking song it is! Right up there with Battle Hymn of the Republic. A drunken version of these two beats the hell outta any drunken version of Wild Rover for the 400th time.

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by shanty

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/13919/comments#comment286512

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by dafydd

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/21485

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by Henk Bos

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

Every student in my school knows the whole story of that song, plus the circumstances under which Key composed the original poem. We sing it all the time; sometimes all three stanzas.

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by Greg the Piano Tuner

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

I tend to take the Eddie Izzard approach,



"Do You Have a Flag"?

# Posted on July 5th 2009 by Lint - upon - Tweed

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

Since it is in 3/4 time, I always like to play it as a waltz (as the late Victor Borge played it).

# Posted on July 6th 2009 by fauxcelt

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

I think its an old English song about running away and letting the Yanks do whatever we please. The name escapes me at the moment though...

# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Nate Ryan

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

nice one Japhy, Eddie Izzard certainly hit that 'nation-crunching' hammer of all heads on the head with that simple observation (in the form of a casual 'power' question) :

''Do They have a flag?''

now on the top and bottom of the globe, on the floor of our oceans, i even suspect that there may be one on the moon . . .

# Posted on July 6th 2009 by lisaniska

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

Although had Washington, D.C. not been in the imminent path of a hurricane when the British landed... (Hard to occupy a place when you can't stand up on the streets.)

# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Arthur Nordstrom

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

I provided Herself, in her alter ego role as junior high social studies and American history teacher, a copy of the 'Anacreonic Song' music so she could illustrate this topic and enlighten the youth who will be the future of our great republic.

The only problem, in a Catholic school where she teaches, she might be a bit challenged to explain what the reference to 'entwining myrtle with Bacchus's vine' is getting at.

Usually they Pastor comes in to explaing that sort of thing in Phys Ed sometime in late eight grade, so he can also expose the innocent young things to the approved methods of birth control- 1. 'Just say No" and 2. the Rhythm Method (what do they call practicioners of that approach? 'Parents'. Can you do 'rim shot' on a bodhran? )

# Posted on July 6th 2009 by zippydw

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

I am not too familiar with the Rhythm Method but after playing a certain color of music for too many years, I am well-acquainted with the Rhythm & Blues Method.

# Posted on July 6th 2009 by fauxcelt

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

fauxcelt

Inside the Catholic Church joke. Sorry

# Posted on July 7th 2009 by zippydw

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

As I understood it, the tune was written by the late (and very much lamented) Dr Asimov, under its original name of "The Star Mangled Spanner". See his Complete Works, if you don't believe me.

# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Ebor_fiddler

Re: "Star Spangled Banner" - tune from an old English drinking song?

Zippy, if your comment was intended as an inside the Catholic Church joke, my response is: "You are forgiven my son, you may go and sin some more".
My comment was intended to be an "Inside the blues" joke. It comes from too many years of playing piano or bass at a local Blues Jam.

# Posted on July 7th 2009 by fauxcelt