![]() ![]() But just as Jefferson and Washington must be understood within the framework of their times with all of the complexities involved, Key should be viewed with proper context and evaluated holistically for the complete life he lived and contributions he made.Ĭonveniently left out of the attacks on Key is how his opinions on the horrendous practice of slavery softened over time. Yes, Francis Scott Key, the man behind the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was a slaveholder. Of course, the lyricist is the main vehicle the cancelers want to use to replace America’s super-patriotic anthem with a song about friendship or a sleep-inducing, nihilistic, neo-Marxist earworm. Not only is this not the end of the world, but it’s also more of a condemnation of our failed public school system than an indictment of the lyrics or its lyricist. Second, the anthem features, at most, six words that may be unfamiliar to some Americans: “hailed,” “gleaming,” “perilous,” “ramparts,” “gallantly,” and “spangled.” That’s it - six words (maybe) in the entire song. anthem is British isn’t a flaw, it’s a delightful musical example of 19th-century “trolling.” What’s more subversive and snarky than using a drinking song of the nation you defeated in a war of independence to celebrate another later victory over that same nation? That the tune of the U.S. First, indeed, the tune used by “The Star-Spangled Banner” is John Stafford Smith’s “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a British song that was performed at pubs and men’s social clubs.īut this isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. Rosen castigates the anthem for having a British melody and for what he calls “Anglophile” lyrics too “ornate” for “normal” Americans to understand. Rosen throws every conceivable complaint he can conjure at the anthem, hoping enough of the mud he slings will hit its target to conceal the fact that his effort is just another virtue-signaling hit-job on an American icon. ![]() The most recent major volley fired at the anthem comes courtesy of The New York Times Magazine writer Jody Rosen.
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