To Anacreon in Heaven

[Batmanmg]

yeah, us americans like to take awful british stuff and make it our own awsome stuff.. kindof like how we took those awful british colonies and make them the awsome united states of america!!

[RiotDragonX]

@Batmanmg lol I would call you ignorant...but that's assuming you're smart enough to know what you're talking about in the first place.

[superdan1875]

The yanks should have to pay us royalties for this and 'my country tis of thee'

[DremordDrale]

WTF! Seriously? What's that even mean?

[mysteryshrimp]

The Star Spangled Banner was a poem written by Key without a tune. When it was first published, it was as a song, the tune was given as To Anachreon. It was simply because the meter fit and it was a tune that was well known, plus Key had used that tune in that manner before. A song has more staying power than a poem, so it was a common practice to assign a known tune to a verse rather than just let it stand on it's own. Look up "God Save the King". You might find that tune familiar was well.

[thepermman]

The national anthem is a big FU to the Brtiish colonial practices, Drinking houses were of few places people could publicly gather, and that is where they plotted revolution.

[ajferet]

@Oliviathefolkie:

So is "Deutchland Uber Alles" (The National Anthem of Germany) :)

[luxxn]

@ajferet you are talking absolut rubbish! the melody of the german anthem was composed by Haydn for the emperor of Austria

[XboxBasherAvailable]

@ajferet the verse containing "deutschland uber alles" is banned in germany, it was only added during the Nazi regime.

[pablogrifter]

In the pub is were we do our best singing ..apart from the karaoke..that still sounds like a cat be drowned, even here.

[sgtmact]

The British are excellent musicians even the drunks.

[ProtectTheDamned]

Classic British Tune :)

[oliviathefolkie]

It amuses me so much that the melody of the American national anthem is a tune borrowed from an old drinking song. (Incidentally, I'm American.)

[JaimeSouviens]

@oliviathefolkie Why? How is that possibly amusing?

[lxktn1989]

@JaimeSouviens Because it fits ever so perfectly with the beligerent view of the United States held by much of the world today. Also, totally fits with the problems with alcoholism and drunk driving we're currently dealing with. Coincidentally, I'm American as well, and just entertained by the irony that we chose a drinking song for our National Anthem's tune.

[JaimeSouviens]

@lxktn1989 I see no use in trying to attack weird stereotypes in your head. (By the way, rates of alcoholism are far lower in America.) Irony would require some sort of incongruity between expectation and reality. What America did in 1931 was to choose a popular Navy march for a national anthem. The fact that the tune had been a then-forgotten British clubman's song more than a century before was generally unknown. But even then, why not a drinking song? What's wrong with a drinking song?

[Hagalazii]

@oliviathefolkie

wich is kinda funny ;D

but its a really wonderful tune

[fran81cesco]

your land is stained by the blood of your fathers

[aflyer]

It actually wasn't adopted as the National Anthem until 1931.

[Tr3fitty]

Actually, The poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry" Sept 13-14, 1814 by Francis Scott Key was popularized in the Late 1820's later adopted as the Nation Anthem in 1831 to the tune of Anacreon in Heaven. Touché!

[20012607]

i was joking..... and lmfo its not from the 1820s! teh colonial time were hmm....1770-1780ish? lol

[krazel12]

@20012607

.... colonial times started with Jamestown in 1607.

1770 was the beginning of what caused the American Revolution and 1780 was after the revolution when the 13 colonies were on their way to forming the United States of America.

[lacolumnadurruti]

@krazel12

as long as we're correcting people....actually, the colonial era started significantly before 1607 and the american war for independence didn't end until 1783 (the last military engagement in the 13 colonies was in 1781).

[20012607]

oh, wow! i thought this was actually from the colonial times.....til i saw the motorcycle righ next to them

[centurion1107]

@20012607 Right, because they also had video cameras back then :) lol