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\u2018The Star-Spangled Banner\u2019 is now well-known as the USA\u2019s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he\u2019d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.\nIt was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, \u2018To Anacreon in Heaven\u2019, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation\u2019s official \u2018choon.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn what a \u2018contrafactum\u2019 is; explore why the US national anthem is so notoriously tricky to sing; and question what meaning \u2018the land of the free\u2019 held for Baltimore\u2019s enslaved Africans\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018Francis Scott Key - National Anthem, War of 1812 & Facts\u2019 (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key\n\u2022 \u2018To Anacreon In Heaven\u2019 (Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine):\nhttps://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/to-anacreon-in-heaven.htm\n\u2022 \u2018Top 10 American National Anthem Performance Fails\u2019 (Watch Mojo, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffxvV1PAEI\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#1800s #Person #Music #US\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices