Literary Glutton

Did you know that the theme to the United States’ national anthem was originally a drinking song?

Francis Scott Key may have written the four stanzas of “Defence of Fort McHenry” with patriotic intent, but it needed a melody before becoming the Star Spangled Banner we know today.

“The Anacreontic Song”, by English composer John Stafford Smith was popular in US gentlemen’s clubs during the 1800s and fit perfectly with Key’s words. Therefore, it’s not all that outrageous to say that American nationalism is based on our enthusiasm for booze.

To Anacreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee,
A few Sons of Harmony sent a petition;
That he their Inspirer and Patron wou’d be;
When this answer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian;
“Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
No longer be mute,
I’ll lend you my name and inspire you to boot,
And besides I’ll instruct you like me, to intwine,
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine!”

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