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On April 4, 1818, the Congress of the United States adopted a new national flag which consisted of thirteen alternating red and white stripes (one for each original colony), and--at the flag's upper left--a field of blue with a star representing each state. (There were twenty of them at the time. Now there are fifty.)
The design has held up for over two hundred years. However, it was not the flag hymned by Francis Scott Key in what is perhaps the best known musical encomium to its country's standard. That particular Star-Spangled Banner was the flag still waving over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, after a twenty-five hour bombardment by the British Navy during the War of 1812. That flag had fifteen stripes, and fifteen stars, both representing the number of states in the Union at the time.
Eventually, the words of Key's poem were set to the music from To Anacreon in Heaven, and the rest--as they say--is history.
Lord. Who knew there were all those verses? Some of them have proven controversial in recent decades, not least the reference to "the hireling and slave" in stanza three. (Very recently, the tragic collapse of the Port of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge following a collision occasioned by a container ship that had lost its way, led to the unwelcome revelation that Key was--like many of his contemporaries--a slave owner himself. No matter his place in American history, don't look for the rebuilt bridge, when it's completed, to be named in his honor. )
Over the years, the "Star Spangled Banner" has been performed in just about every venue, from the smallest local stage to the largest global platform (although perhaps never more movingly than at Buckingham Palace's Changing of the Guard on September 13, 2001):
Back "home" however, the annual dissection of the anthem's performance at the Super Bowl probably surpasses all others for human and musical interest. Over the years, it's become more a matter of "Look at Me!" performance art than heartfelt patriotism, although Reba McEntire did a respectable job in February of this year. (I thank God that we have--to date at least--been spared the pole dancing versions, either by Jennifer Lopez or Shakira.)
For "best performance of the National Anthem by a global superstar," most folks (including me) think the winner by a mile was the incredibly troubled, but incomparably talented, Whitney Houston, from 1991, at the height of the First Gulf War.*
Pure joy and love for her country. If I could ever--reliably--employ an American sports metaphor, I might say she hit it out of the park:
Old Glory.** Long may she wave.
*The late Mr. She often said that the two proudest achievements of his life were teaching his (English) wife to drink American whiskey and watch American football. I simply do my best (on both counts) to bring his achievement forward to the present day.
**Legend has it that the name "Old Glory" was first applied to the US flag by Captain William Driver, on March 17, 1824. Driver's original flag was presented to the Smithsonian Museum in 1922, where it lives under glass to this day.
Discussion (9)
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Honorable mention, Meat Loaf:
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Whitney always gives me chills when I hear her sing it.
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You can bet on the over/under for the length of the performance. I think the last over/under was 1:59. Reba's 1:35 was respectable (and respectful). Alicia Keyes holds the current record for longer performances – 2:36 in 2013. Neil Diamond remembered all the words and hit all the notes in 1:02 in 1987.
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Another Grand Old Flag and the one who flew her:
The Ballad of Barbara Frietchie by John Greenleaf Whittier
Up from the meadows rich with corn,
Clear in the cool September morn,
The clustered spires of Frederick stand
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.
Round about them orchards sweep,
Apple and peach tree fruited deep,
Fair as the garden of the Lord
To the eyes of the famished rebel horde,
On that pleasant morn of the early fall
When Lee marched over the mountain-wall;
Over the mountains winding down,
Horse and foot, into Frederick town.
Forty flags with their silver stars,
Forty flags with their crimson bars,
Flapped in the morning wind: the sun
Of noon looked down, and saw not one.
Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,
Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;
Bravest of all in Frederick town,
She took up the flag the men hauled down;
In her attic window the staff she set,
To show that one heart was loyal yet,
Up the street came the rebel tread,
Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.
Under his slouched hat left and right
He glanced; the old flag met his sight.
‘Halt!’ – the dust-brown ranks stood fast.
‘Fire!’ – out blazed the rifle-blast.
It shivered the window, pane and sash;
It rent the banner with seam and gash.
Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff
Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.
She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And shook it forth with a royal will.
‘Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,
But spare your country’s flag,’ she said.
A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came;
The nobler nature within him stirred
To life at that woman’s deed and word;
‘Who touches a hair of yon gray head
Dies like a dog! March on! he said.
All day long through Frederick street
Sounded the tread of marching feet:
All day long that free flag tost
Over the heads of the rebel host.
Ever its torn folds rose and fell
On the loyal winds that loved it well;
And through the hill-gaps sunset light
Shone over it with a warm good-night.
Barbara Frietchie’s work is o’er,
And the Rebel rides on his raids nor more.
Honor to her! and let a tear
Fall, for her sake, on Stonewalls’ bier.
Over Barbara Frietchie’s grave,
Flag of Freedom and Union, wave!
Peace and order and beauty draw
Round thy symbol of light and law;
And ever the stars above look down
On thy stars below in Frederick town!
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Great post @She. I think my most recent favorite was Chris Stapleton's version at Super Bowl LVII a year ago. No pomp and circumstance just a man and his guitar to honor the country.
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