The Star Spangled Banners: National Anthems and their Nationalist Implications
This past week, in the United States, we celebrated July 4th. I spent the day grilling hot dogs with friends, recalling images of American flags and proclamations of Bush era wars for some reason. I try to use Independence Day to reflect on what Americanism is all about 248 years after the establishment of this find country. Unsurprisingly, my thoughts took a musical turn and I’ve spent the weekend considering how music can be a tool to bolster a sense of American nationalism.
There is, of course, the most obvious example: The Star Spangled Banner. The lyrics, composed by Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814 during the War of 1812, is set to the tune of a popular British (ironic, much?) song called “To Anacreon in Heaven” by John Stafford Smith. The song was recognized for official use by the U.S. Navy in 1880 and, subsequently, defined as the national Anthem on March 3, 1931 by the U.S. Congress and President Herbert Hoover.
Most Americans hear the national anthem during sports events, a tradition that began at a baseball game in 1862, but was popularized at the 1918 World Series, during World War I. 17 months and 100,000 America deaths after the U.S. entered World War I, a military band spontaneously played the unofficial anthem at a World Series events which, as reported by the the New York Times, was met with thunderous applause and cheer. In a subsequent game, The Red Sox played the song and introduced wounded soldiers at the same time. One can see, here, the intersectional relationship between sports, nationalism, and war. By using wounded soldiers as theatrical props set against the Star Spangled Banners, sports figures were able to rouse support not only for their team, but for American national identity as a nation at war on the world stage.
This intersectional relationship had another flash point on January 27, 1991, ten days into the Persian Gulf War. Whitney Houston, taking the field at Tampa Stadium along with the Florida Orchestra, performed to 73,000 present fans and 115 million viewers at home during the Super Bowl. Her voice, soaring and magnetic, provided a sense of hope and resilience for a country at war. There was a self-assurance in Whitney’s performance that gave America confidence that their government and military had both a sense of moral clarity and a near diving right to win the Gulf War.
We live in a time when music—with its subgenera and internet corners—is largely something that we identify with a sense of self. We imagine songs to tell our story, to speak to who we are. But, the star spangled banner is a song that speaks to the collective. We view it as an almost religious text, invoked before every sports game as a reminder of our national identity. In the bigger moments, especially when war is in the air, the song can serve to unite a nation.
What’s most interesting to me is that the melody, at least, was never intended for nationalist identity building. Rather, John Stafford Smith’s tune was composed as a song for a British social club. It is interesting to consider how songs we create today for our own purposes can be shifted and morphed to fit the needs of a nation at war.
