by Mary Jo
This blog is a revision of one I wrote after watching the presidential inauguration in January 2009. More about that later, but what got me thinking about anthems was an issue that is very much in play in Maryland, namely, a movement to toss out the current state song, "Maryland, My Maryland."
Now this is not a subject I've thought about much . I'm more interested in the official Maryland cake, the multilayer Smith Island Cake cake, which is tasty and decadent. Or the Maryland state cat, which shares the orange, black, and white colors of the Maryland flag. (Yes, it is a rather odd looking flag. <G>)
I'm not a native Marylander and wouldn't have even recognized the state song. The Mayhem Consultant, who is a native and was a state employee for some years, would recognize it; he informed me that it's sung to the tune of "O, Christmas Tree." <G> (<
I was appalled to learn that the words are based on a violent secessionist anthem which refers to Lincoln as a tyrant, vandal, and more, and calls for defeating "northern scum." An op-ed piece I read in the newspaper this morning said that Marylander John Wilkes Booth shouted a phrase from stanza 6 when he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Mmmm, I think the song has passed its expiration date. Quite apart from the fact that it advocated treasonous violence, it's a really bad song.
Quite a lot of Marylanders are now advocating for dumping the song and perhaps having a contest for a new one, which sounds reasonable to me. But as I said above, the current discussion of the song got me thinking about anthems. The original blog was triggered when music played at the inauguration including the patriotic song, "America."
Say what? We've had Wenches from Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and they wanted to know why the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen," was being played at an American presidential inauguration. Much discussion ensued. <G>
How would a French citizen feel about hearing “La Marseillaise” played at the American inauguration? Or how would an American feel about hearing “The Star Spangled Banner” played at a British coronation?
I started researching. Throughout history, it's been pretty common to latch onto a good tune and set new words to it. Samuel Francis Smith, who wrote the lyrics to "America/My Country 'Tis of Thee" (aka "God Save the Sovereign of Your Choice") got the tune from a German source. The music of “America/God Save the Queen” is very easy to sing especially when compared to the official US anthem, the notoriously difficult “Star Spangled Banner,” which covers an octave and a half range, so that helped "America's" popularity.
Through much of the 19th century, “America” was a de facto national anthem. In earlier days, around the time of George Washington, “Hail, Columbia” was the most common patriotic choice. Other songs were also widely sung.
As some of you probably know, the tune of “The Star Spangled Banner” was taken from a drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven.” (Anacreon was a classical Greek poet who wrote poems in praise of love and wine, which makes perfect sense for drinking songs.) The lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key toward the end of the War of 1812. He watched the Battle of Fort McHenry from a ship several miles away and was desperate to see what flag flew over the fort the next morning: the British Union Jack or the American Stars and Stripes? You know the answer to that. <G> The battle was a key episode in my book Once a Soldier. (An aerial view of the fort is on the right. It's not very big and was called the Star Fort by Baltimoreans.)
The idea of a national anthem really took hold in the 19th century, along with the development of nation state identities, though some of the anthems are older, of course. Probably the first national anthem was “God Save the King,” which dates from the mid-18th century. Ideally, an anthem captures a sense of the nation and its essence or aspirations.
These days a lot of anthem recognition comes through sporting events. Before television, anthems weren’t needed so much. A lot of anthems weren’t formally adopted until the 20th century. “The Star Spangled Banner” wasn’t adopted until 1931, for example.
Anthems generally come in two types: Martial marches or hymns of praise to the monarch or the country. “God Save the King” is definitely hymn-like, as is “Jerusalem,” which is also something of an English anthem, as is “Land of Hope and Glory.”
Countries born in revolution often have more martial anthems, and of these, France’s “La Marseillaise” is hard to beat. Stirring! Here's a clip from the famous scene in "Casablanca" where the French people in Rick's Café out sing the Germans.
Both the US and Britain have marches as well as hymns. “Rule, Britannia!” is a grand and stirring song, but not exactly conciliatory. <G> The refrain is “Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves: Britons never will be slaves." The military pride and naval slant definitely reflect the Empire. (These days, you can get “Rule, Britannia” as a ring tone for your cell phone. <G>)
“The Star Spangled Banner” is also pretty martial, with all those bombs bursting in mid-air, although the Battle of Baltimore was one of defense, not offense. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is both a hymn and a march. “He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword.” Right. It was a popular abolitionist song during our Civil War, but it’s not exactly conciliatory, though still popular as a patriotic song. Actually, even hymn-like anthems tend to turn martial in later verses, with much smiting of foes and crushing of enemies beneath righteous feet.
On the other hand, “America the Beautiful” is definitely a hymn, and that’s the patriotic song I heard most after the horror of 9/11. It has always been a contender for national anthem, and it’s a love song, not a battle song. It was written by Katharine Lee Bates, a Wellesley English professor, after she took the train cross country to Colorado Springs. It’s said that the words came to her when she was on top of Pike’s Peak looking out over the ‘amber fields of grain’ of the Great Plains. (The music is by Samuel A. Ward.)
Choosing anthems gets complicated. Australia used "God Save the King" for a long time, but it’s not an Aussie song. “Waltzing Matilda” is widely associated with the country, and personally I think that a song about the drowning of a sheep thief has a cheerful anti-authoritarianism which seems quintessentially Aussie to me. <g> (In a similar vein, a friend from the state of Washington says that the unofficial state song is “Louie, Louie.” <G>)
Being a modern nation, Australia decided its national anthem by popular vote in 1984. There were four contenders, and the winner was “Advance, Australia Fair,” a nice song in the hymn mode. It mentions the Southern Cross, which is part of the Australian flag.
All that being said, why was “America” sung at the 2009 inauguration rather than a different patriotic song? I don’t know the official reason, but my guess is because the song is a paean to liberty and freedom, an affirmation of our deepest American ideals. As such, it makes perfect sense for momentous national occasions.
So do you have any thoughts on national anthems in general, or the choice of “America” in particular? What songs stir your blood? Which ones make you want to stand up and cheer?
And which ones bring tears to your eyes?
Mary Jo